Revelation
by Arashi-No-Shadow
Summary: Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience
1. Chapter 1

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Okay.. my first ZuToph... XD, I really hope you like it, and review. I need you guys to review, I really need to know how I'm doing with this.**

"We should split up, we can cover more ground that way." Katara said looking at everyone else.

"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph called throwing her arms around him. From the dead silence, she could tell that the others were wondering why. "What? Everyone else that went off with Zuko had a life changing revelation, I want one too." she said. Zuko raised his good eyebrow, and looked down at the young girl her arms were still around his waist, and he could feel a small blush creeping in to colour his face slightly. Sokka shrugged and walked away to get onto Appa, taking the reins in his hands, he said some stuff Toph wasn't listening to, as she got onto the fluffy buffalo. They flew off towards Ember island, reaching it relatively quickly. Katara went through her elaborate plan, and the two groups split up, Sokka with Suki and Katara, and Toph with Zuko.  
Toph and Zuko chose to go through the forests near the city walls, while they were there, Toph told Zuko of her past, and how many times she'd ran off.

"Look, I'm sure you've had a hard past, but I think we should focus on finding Aang right now." Zuko said. Toph knew that he was agitated, she could feel it through the ground. She walked silently behind him, trying to think of something else to say. She felt and heard Zuko's footsteps stop, and stopped as well. She focused on feeling something with her feet, but there was nothing.

"What? What's going on?" she asked. She felt Zuko take a step towards her, and wanted to move back, but his soft hands on her shoulders stopped her. "What?" she asked, her voice was soft, and almost nervous.

"You wanted a revelation right?" Zuko asked leaning toward her.

"Yeah I suppose." Toph answered.

"Hows this?" he asked softly, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. Toph let out a surprised sound, but melted into him with a small moan. Her arms wrapped around his waist as his hands rested on her sides. The kiss was short, but it was followed by another longer, deeper one. Toph felt footsteps a ways back behind them, and moved out of Zuko's embrace as Katara came around the corner.

"Hey guys, he's not here." she said in a soft voice. "Unless you found him?"

"Nope." Toph said walking past her with Zuko close behind.

"I have an idea." Zuko said to Katara. Toph wondered if perhaps he was playing one off of the other here, but when she felt his and Katara's footsteps, she could feel that he was closer to her than Katara. They got back to where Sokka and Suki were waiting with Appa. They were standing just beside Appa, snogging eachother. Sokka moved quickly away from Suki as he heard the others approaching, but of course, Toph saw almost everything through feeling. She decided not to laugh, and tell everyone what they'd been up to as usual, because she knew what it was like now, and could figure out why they did it as much.

"We should go back to the house, and start tomorrow at dawn, it'll be a long flight." Zuko said. Suki and Katara got onto Appa and Sokka took the reins. Zuko let Toph step onto his hands and vaulted her up into the saddle, following quickly. He sat near her at the back of the saddle, away from all of the others.

"Why'd you kiss me?" Toph whispered.

"Because I wanted to." Zuko answered looking down into her pale face. "You didn't want me to?"

"I didn't know what you were doing." she hissed then paused. "But after, I never wanted to stop."

"Neither did I." Zuko agreed in a whisper.

"Why though, why did you do it in the first place?" she asked.

"Because… I love you."

"How?"

"It happened quickly, I think I realized it most yesterday, after you told me about my uncle." Zuko whispered.

Toph nodded softly. "What about Katara?" she asked.

"I've never felt any attraction towards her."

Toph nodded again. "What do you like about me?" she asked Zuko.

"Youre beautiful. And you hit hard for a girl." he said absently rubbing his left shoulder where she'd hit him. He looked back at her. "You know just what to say, and you're so full of spirit. You have a fun sense of humor, and aren't afraid to say what's in your mind."

Toph smiled softly. "So you just like me for who I am?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yeah pretty much." Zuko answered, discreetly touching her hand with his.

"What are you two talking about over there?" Katara asked with a smile. She'd never seen Toph smile like that, and it was kind of refreshing.

"Revelations." Toph answered, her smile disappearing.

Katara laughed softly, "did you get a life changing revelation while you were off with Zuko?"

"I think I did." Toph answered stretching her arms over her head. "I'm tired, I didn't get much sleep last night, can I use you as a pillow Zuko?" she asked poking him in the side.

He raised his good eyebrow again. "Sure I guess." he answered.

Toph moved closer to him, leaning on him with her head on his chest. He moved his fingers in small circles over her back, and even though he forced his expression to be one of nervousness, and discomfort, he had to suppress a smile.

Katara watched the exchange with a small smile, shrugging at Zuko's bewildered expression. Both her and Suki were at the wrong angle to see his hand working over Toph's back, but they could both see Toph's contented expression. She hadn't been lying about being tired, and soon fell asleep, and as her body relaxed, Zuko had to put his arm around her to keep her from sliding down his chest. Katara frowned at the closeness of the two, but she knew it shouldn't bother her it wasn't like there was something going on between them. Although Zuko's soft contented expression bothered her a little bit, if they were just friends, he wouldn't look like his life was complete.

Katara turned away, she was so confused, she liked Zuko kind of, but Aang seemed to return her feelings for him. She knew though that if she had to go with someone, it would have to be Aang, if they ever found him…

Appa landed with a thud, but Zuko sat still, not wanting to bother Toph.

"Zuko! Are you coming?" Sokka called.

"As soon as I figure out how to wake her up." he answered. Sokka laughed and followed Suki, and Katara to the house. Appa yawned and laid down, Zuko smiled and shook Toph gently. "Hey, we're back." he said leaning down towards her.  
Toph woke slowly, her clouded eyes opening to look past Zuko.

"Sorry." she said sitting up and yawning. She stretched, and leaned against Zuko again. He tilted her head up, kissing her softly before pulling away. Toph leaned into him, crushing their lips together again. Zuko slowly pushed his tongue past Toph's lips into her mouth. She tilted her head and opened her mouth wider to give him more access. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, as his wrapped around her waist. He pulled away from her when his need for a proper breath of air was too great. Her breathing was regular as she opened her eyes again. Zuko looked down at her and realized then how beautiful she actually was. He brushed her hair away from her face, and tilted her head back looking down into her eyes, and down past her slightly swollen lips.

"What are you doing?" she questioned as his hand moved from her face, and down the side of her neck.

"Marvelling at your beauty." he answered back with a smile. A small blush appeared on Toph's face colouring her normally pale skin. She reached up blindly, and brushed her palm over Zuko's face, getting an idea of what he looked like, her hand paused on his scar, before moving back over his face again. "You're not that bad looking yourself." she answered.

"Yeah, what about this?" he asked bringing Toph's hand up to his scar again.

Toph snorted softly. "It's not the outside that matters, it's in here..." she said pulling her hand out of his, and placing it on his chest. "I can't see you and even if I could, I wouldn't care if you looked like a sabertoothmooselion." she said with a small laugh. She really had no idea what a sabertoothmooselion looked like since she'd been born blind, but she'd caught glimpses of them when the one Aang had been fighting hit it's head on the ground.

Zuko laughed as well, before sighing. "We should go inside, they'll be wondering what's up." he said softly, moving away from Toph, and jumping down. He took her hand, and she jumped down beside him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly again. He walked behind her up to the house. "I'll come see you later tonight, and we can talk about some stuff while we're alone." he said holding open the door for her.

"Okay." she said walking inside and following the others voices to the sitting room.

"There you are… what took you so long?" Katara asked.

"I'm a deep sleeper." Toph answered with a smile.

Sokka laughed slightly, and Zuko looked at him, he was sitting near the fire with his arm around Suki. Zuko frowned and sat as far from Katara as he could. Toph flopped herself next to him with a sigh.

"You're going to be up all night now aren't you?" Katara asked her.

Toph frowned, still staring straight forward. "Probably, got a problem with that?" she asked.

"No, just wondering." Katara said throwing a look at Zuko who turned away from her.

"Well, I'm going to bed…" Sokka said standing and stretching.

"Well then, so am I." Suki said standing quickly, and following Sokka. Katara shook her head, "I'm sleeping at the other end of the house." she said going the opposite way as Sokka and Suki. As soon as she was out of earshot, Toph stood, and turned toward Zuko. He reached out, "Over here." he said quietly. She reached out, and fumbled with his hand, but instead of standing, he pulled her towards him, and she straddled his lap, sitting on his legs. Her hands rested on his chest, and she sighed.

"So let's talk, no one's here." she said.

"I've already told you that I love you, and nobody else, now it's your turn." Zuko said.

"I love you... Zuko. I really do, I never thought about you this way before, but now that I do, I know that I do love you. I love the sound of your voice, especially raised in anger, and the feel of your hands." she said taking one in both of hers, brushing her fingers over his knuckles. He squeezed her small hand in his, and leaned up into her to kiss her again. He heard a gasp, and looked towards the door.

"Suki?" he questioned.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." she said taking a step away from the door.

Toph was still looking over Zuko's shoulder when she addressed Suki.

"What was it you wanted?" she asked.

"I just thought that Katara would be down here, I wanted to talk with her" Suki answered.

"She's down there, and don't tell her about me and Zuko, we will do it ourselves." Toph said, and Suki disappeared down the hall with a nod.  
Toph stood from the couch, and pulled Zuko to his feet. "Lets go to my room." she said leading him towards the stairs. She took them two at a time, and walked towards her room. Zuko could see her lips moving, and stopped her. "What are you saying to yourself?" he asked her.

"I count my steps to my door, so I know where I am." she said.

"How many steps are there?" he asked.

"Twenty-three, and so far I've counted seventeen." she said taking the next six steps and walking through her door.

"I only do it when I can't feel where I am." she said. "I feel the vibrations of the wood, but it's fuzzy, and it just confuses me."

"I see." Zuko said following her to her bed, and sitting down. He opened his arms, and as if she detected his movements she moved forwards a step, and he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You do know I'm only twelve?" she asked.

"That's only four years younger than me." Zuko answered smiling.

"What will people think of you now that you're with an earthbender?" Toph asked.

"As you know, a lot of people already hate me for being a firebender, I doubt if it would really matter." he said with a sigh.

"I don't hate you." Toph said nuzzling his shoulder.

"I know, but others do. I guess I shouldn't complain though, it's your opinion that really matters to me, not others'." Zuko said pressing his lips to Toph's in another tender kiss.

"Zuko, this is a little too soon for me, I don't think I'm ready for the really heavy stuff." Toph said softly shifting in Zuko's embrace.

"I won't make you do anything you don't want to. I can wait until you're ready." he answered.

"And what about your old girlfriend Mai?" Toph asked.

"I never felt this deeply for her. It's strange, I always thought that I was destined to be with her, but all it was, was an adolescent crush, it meant nothing at all." Zuko answered. Toph could feel what his body was doing, and either he was as good of liar as his sister, or he was telling the truth. She decided to go with the second, knowing that he was nothing like his sister.  
Zuko laid her down under the covers of the bed, and climbed in beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into him.

She lay comfortably on her side with her arms bent between them, she could feel his heartbeat through her palm, and knew that this was definitely real, and she wasn't still asleep on the buffalo. She sighed softly as Zuko pulled the covers over them, and fell asleep quickly.

When Toph awoke, she was alone, and she panicked.

"Zuko?" she asked, but no one answered.

"Zuko?" she called. She heard footsteps, and heard someone kneel on the ground next to the bed. She reached out, and brushed her hand over their face, even though just from the sounds the person made, she knew it was Zuko.

"I'm sorry." she said. "But I woke up and I was alone, and… and…" she trailed off as Zuko sat next to her on the bed.

"No, it's my fault for leaving without telling you." Zuko said softly taking her hands in his.

Toph heard someone at the door, and turned towards the person. "Suki?" she asked. They were too light to be Sokka, and too careful to be Katara, so it had to be Suki.

"Sorry, I heard you calling Zuko, and had to make sure everything was okay." she looked accusingly at Zuko, and he raised his eyebrow. Judging from the look on her face, Zuko could tell that she either knew how young Toph was, or knew of Katara's feelings for him, he guessed that it was the second.

"everything is peachy." Toph said standing from the bed. "you can leave now."

Suki nodded, and turned down the hall. "Zuko, why did she sound like that?" Toph asked turning her pale eyes towards him.

"I don't know." he answered standing. He pulled her into him and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Good morning anyways." he said in a light tone.

"Good morning." Toph said walking towards the door. Turning down the hall, she walked to the sitting room without a problem. She sat down, and Zuko sat close next to her, draping his arm over her shoulders. Toph moved closer to him, snuggling into him, and wrapping both her arms around him. Sokka outright stared at them, a bewildered expression on his face, while Katara was staring stubbornly at the floor. Zuko tapped his foot softly, and taking the hint Toph stretched out her leg, and placed her toes on the floor. With the steady tapping of Zuko's foot, she could see what the others were up to.

"You'd better shut your mouth before a bird nests in there Sokka." she commented before standing. Zuko had to bite his lip to suppress a smile, but he held onto Toph's hand in case she did anything rash.

"Katara, can I talk to you for a minute?" Toph asked the older girl.

"I guess." Katara said.

"In private?"

Katara stood and followed Toph outside.

"Look, I know how you feel about Zuko, but I really love him, and he loves me. Aang would be a better choice for you anyways, can't you tell that he really likes you? He was heartbroken about what you said to him at the play. Actually I think that's probably why he ran off. You have no idea what you do to him do you? I'm blind and even I can see that he loves you and would stick by you until the end..." Toph said in a rush before pausing to take a breath.

"Toph, I'm happy for you, I am really. I just don't really trust Zuko around you, his temper is way too unstable, he could hurt you." Katara said.

Toph snorted even though she felt something shatter inside at these words, "Yeah, sure, you're even blinder than I am if you can't see his expressions, and soft gentle movements. And when he kisses me…"

"He kissed you?" Katara demanded.

"More than once, actually you almost caught us the first time, on Ember Island…" Toph said.

"So that's what you were doing." Katara said softly, it was so obvious now.

Toph nodded, and stepped back away from Katara. "Sorry." she said turning, and running into the house as the pain in her chest grew to be too much.

Zuko was standing next to the fire, obviously trying to zone out Sokka's ramblings, when Toph came in. He opened his arms quickly, and Toph threw herself into his embrace. Sokka stopped talking and watched Zuko talk to Toph softly, his hand brushing her bangs off of her forehead as he leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Hey, calm down, you said she was okay with it, what's wrong then?" Zuko asked her.

Sokka finally noticed that Toph's shoulders were shaking. "I-I told her everything, and told her what you said, she doesn't trust you, and says that I should be really careful around you cause your temper is unstable, and you could hurt me… you wouldn't hurt me would you?" she asked tilting her head back."No, no never, I couldn't it's not possible any more. Toph, I would never hurt you, not if my own life depended on it, I would rather die." Zuko said softly, pulling her into him firmly. "I love you too much to loose you."

Toph sniffed softly, and fisted her hands in the back if his shirt, crumpling the fabric.

Sokka watched them, a soft expression on his face before he looked at Suki. She looked like she had tears in her eyes as she saw the exchange between the two. "That's so sweet…" she whispered, her attitude changing completely from that morning.

Katara had to wipe her own eyes to rid of her tears, maybe she was completely wrong about Zuko, he seemed completely sincere about what he said. He loved Toph more than anything, and would do anything for her.

He leaned down a little bit more, and it looked as though he was going to kiss her, but he finally noticed everyone else in the room and stood up straight. He kept his arms around Toph, and walked backwards towards the chair Katara had been sitting in before. He sat down, and pulled Toph into his lap so it looked like he was cradling her to put her to sleep. She rested her head against his chest, and Zuko looked up at everyone else as though daring them to comment. Toph could feel the others' eyes on her and turned her face away, burying it in Zuko's shoulder. He rubbed her shoulder gently, and her arms wrapped around his waist.

"They're not going to judge you." he said softly, leaning down again. Everyone's eyes were still on them as though it were reality TV. Suki and Katara both gasped softly as Toph leaned up, and pressed her lips to Zuko's, to them the kiss lasted eternity, in reality it was only a few seconds. Toph leaned against him again, closing her pale green eyes as she suddenly felt exhausted again. Zuko held her close, a contented look on his face. He hadn't even noticed that Sokka had left until he came barging in again.

"Appa is gone." he said his voice jolting Toph from a light sleep. Zuko stood with Toph in his arms, holding her as though she was a small child. He followed after Sokka with Toph in his arms, once they were outside where they'd left the bison they saw no trace of him other than his footsteps, and tailprint from where he'd taken off. As if on cue, Momo landed in front of them just as Zuko put Toph down on the ground.

In the distance they could see the speck of Appa in the sky, growing steadily larger as he got closer. A few minutes later he landed on the ground, and Aang jumped down off of him.

"Good to see you twinkletoes." Toph said as he passed, giving him a playful punch in the arm.

"You too." he said absently. He walked straight to Katara, and pulled her into a hug, kissing her softly again. Zuko once again tapped his foot on the ground so Toph could see what was happening. Katara's arms wrapped around Aang's shoulders just before he pulled away.

"I have to do it." he said. "I have to kill the fire-lord."

"Aang, the comet is days away, it's fine for now." she answered softly. "Focus on training for now."

Aang smiled, and looked at everyone else. He saw Zuko with his arm around Toph, and raised his eyebrows. Zuko was still tapping his foot, and Aang could tell from the way Toph was looking at him it was so she could see what was up. She waved at him, a wide smile on her face. He laughed, and walked towards the house with Katara. Sokka and Suki followed, but Zuko stopped Toph from going as well. He looked towards the water.

"You want to learn how to swim?" he asked. Toph's expression was fearful for a moment, but she nodded. Zuko helped her strip down to her underclothes, and quickly stripped down to his boxers. He noticed finally that she did actually have breasts, and they were nearly as big as Katara's but she hid them well under baggy clothes.

Zuko took her hand and led her out into the warm water. She paused when the water reached her waist, but Zuko coaxed her onwards. She walked out until the water was neck deep, holding onto Zuko's arms with a tight grip.

"Okay now take your feet off of the bottom, and don't worry, I've got you." he said.

After a deep breath, Toph did as he said, floating.

"I'm going to let you go but don't worry, I'm right here." Zuko said. He let her go, and she floated for a few seconds before she started to hold her breath and sink. She reached for him, and as promised, he took hold of her. He laughed gently, and turned in front of her. "Hold onto my shoulders." he said. She did as he said, and he pushed himself away from the ocean floor, swimming out a ways.

He could feel and hear Toph's soft laugh, and he turned back towards land. He grabbed Toph's hands gently and turned, he backed up, before tripping over a rock, and falling. Toph went with him laughing as she did. Her hair had come down from the weight of the water, and was plastered to her back, some of it trailing down her shoulder and onto Zuko's chest, and the sand.

She brushed her sand-free hand over his face, and found his lips, she kept her thumb at the corner of his mouth as she leaned down to kiss him. Even though she marked where she was aiming for, she missed his lips slightly, kissing mostly his bottom lip. He moved his face down so she was kissing him fully.  
She had to pull away and laugh. "Sorry about that." she said.

"I don't mind, I'm sure that you'll soon know exactly what I look like if you continue with that." he said with a smile.

"Keep smiling." Toph said, reaching out for his face slowly. She felt his scar under her fingers, and moved her hand over until she felt the bridge of his nose, Zuko's smile was genuine as he watched her face, her expression intrigued him. Her hand continued moving down, until she felt his lips, her fingertips brushed over his lower face, feeling his smile.

"You look nice when you smile, you should do it more often." she commented and he laughed.

"If only I could, I would for you." he said.

"Why can't you?" Toph questioned.

"Im not one for smiling, but I'll make an effort whenever I'm around you." Zuko said pressing his lips to hers again.

Toph pulled away from him. "And when will that be?" she asked.

"Forever hopefully." he answered.

Toph smiled and rolled off of him, staring blankly at the sky. "Zuko?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"What does the sky look like?" she asked.

"it stretches forever over the land, and is a pale blue during the time the sun is out, and is dark when night comes. There are stars that are little white dots in the sky, but they're only out at night." he said.

"Can you tell me what colours look like?" Toph asked him softly.

"It's too complicated to explain, but you can touch things of the colours, that may give you an idea." he said.

Toph's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked.

"I would be honoured." Zuko answered. He stood and pulled Toph to her feet.

"Remember the feeling of the water?" he asked.

Toph nodded. "Water is blue, so blue is soft, and cool." Zuko said trying his best to explain to her.

"And the sand?" Toph asked.

"Sand is a pale whitish brown."

"So brown would be warm and soft then?" she asked.

Zuko led her to a patch of grass.

"And grass is green."

"So it's sharp, and yet soft."

"And it's cool. Yellow is warm like the sun. White is warm as well but can be cold like snow. And tan or peach is the colour of skin." he said softly.

"So I am?"

"You're light peach or beige colour."

"So it's warm and soft." she said reaching out she placed her hand on Zuko's chest, brushing her fingers lightly over it.

"And you are?" she asked.

"Only a little darker than you."

"You're not soft though. You're strong, and nearly unbreakable like the earth."

"But I am soft." he said pressing on her hand so her fingers pushed into his flesh. She tilted her head, and leaned forwards.

"What?" Zuko questioned.

"I can feel your heart." Toph answered pressing her ear to his chest. "I like the sound of yours." Toph said and paused for a moment. "Tell me a lie." she said.

"Why." Zuko asked.

"I want to know what it sounds like when you lie." she answered.

"I hate you." Zuko said softly.

Toph listened as the his heart skipped a beat, and started beating a little faster.

"I love you." he said and Toph heard no change in his heart rate. She looked up at him, her blind eyes staring right past him. He waved his hand in front of her face and she blinked. "What?" she asked.

"Could you see that?" he asked.

"I could feel the wind from whatever you were waving in my face." she said coolly.

"Oh." Zuko said shifting to sit cross legged. He leaned back on his hands, and looked out over the horizon.

"Zuko?" Toph asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"I think we should go inside, I can't feel anyone anymore, I think they've all gone to bed." she said.

"Okay, let's go then." Zuko said pulling her to her feet. He leaned down to get their clothing. A coil of sand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him to his knees. "Toph?" he asked looking up at her. The sand continued moving up his arm, and over his shoulder. He watched her fingers twirl, and her wrists twist as she maneuvered the sand over him. It slid softly over his back and torso, and down over his other arm swirling and twisting over his skin, in small circular patterns. She let the sand circle over his body and face for a few more moments before having it trail down his arm, and sit dormant on the ground.

"What was the point of that?" he asked softly finally opening his eyes.

"I wanted to see you." she answered softly. "I had to make you touch the ground to sense the vibrations, you're very well built." she continued to explain.

"Thanks, but you could have just asked." he said standing.

"It just came to my mind a moment ago, so it was kind of spontaneous." she said taking a few steps towards him.

He met her after she stopped, his strong arms wrapping around her in a gentle embrace. He smiled as a thought came to his mind. "could you imagine yourself years from now if we stay together?"

"No." she stated.

"Right sorry..." Zuko said finally realizing that, that was a stupid thing to say. "But think, you'll be Toph, earthbender of the fire nation. And if I can manage it, you'll be the wife of Forelord Zuko." he said rubbing her back softly.

"You would marry me?" she asked.

"Of course." he said with a soft smile.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. "I love you." he said as he pulled away. He leaned down and picked up their discarded clothes. Pausing for a moment, he swept Toph off of her feet, cradling her against his chest as he walked towards the house.

"This is the second time you've done this tonight, I can walk." she commented, but by her expression, she liked the warmth and closeness of him.

"But why should you? You'll soon have no need to walk, I'll take you anywhere you want to go." he said softly, stopping and kissing her again.

She kept her eyes closed and rested her head against his shoulder as he opened the door easily turning the handle even with her in his arms. He shifted her a bit as he walked through the door, and kicked it closed with a soft thud. He walked up the stairs, and into her room. He laid her on her bed under her blankets and covered her up.

He turned to leave, but she fumbled for him, her hand hooking on his elbow. "Stay with me please?" she asked.

He turned and flipped the covers up so he could get in with her. He wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her against him. He rested his chin on her finally dry hair, and sighed softly. Their clothes had dried so they weren't uncomfortable, and Toph's hair was dry so it wasn't making the bed damp and cold.  
Zuko's hand brushed through her hair softly, and she sighed contentedly. "That feels really good." she said in a hushed tone, and Zuko smiled.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Zuko lifted his head glaring at the person that broke the moment.

Katara leaned against the door jamb, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Isn't she a little young for that kind of activity?" she questioned, and Toph sat up, the blanket fell back to reveal that she had on her underwear, as well as a soft undershirt, and a pair of loose shorts that she wore under her clothes.

"We weren't doing anything Katara." she said, reaching for Zuko. He took her hand gently, sitting up as well to look at Katara.

Katara blushed softly, "Sorry, anyways I came here to talk to you Toph, could we have a moment alone?" she asked looking pointedly at Zuko. He leaned over and kissed Toph's cheek softly "Call if you need me for anything." he whispered standing from the bed and brushing past Katara. He slid down the wall a little ways down the hall, and prepared to wait.

Katara walked into the room closing the door softly behind her.

"What is it Katara?" Toph asked getting right to the point.

"I just wanted to talk to you about Zuko." she said.

"Again with Zuko I-" Toph began.

"Wait, this is important. Has he asked you for anything more than kissing?" she asked.

"What like sex? No, I told him I wasn't ready, and he said that he'd wait until I was." Toph answered.

Katara took a step back. "Did he ask for it though?"

"No, we were just kissing, and I felt a change in how his hands moved on my back, so I told him I didn't think I was ready for the heavy stuff, and he said that it was okay and that he'd wait until I said I was ready." Toph suddenly felt a little embarassed, and took another step back. "Oh, well okay." she said.

"Is that all?" Toph questioned.

"I guess, until I think of more things to bother you with." she said obviously trying to make a joke.

Toph frowned and crossed her arms over her chest she was not amused.

Katara shook her head and exited the room. Zuko looked up from where he was sitting as she passed, and stood. He walked into the room, and closed the door.  
"I don't want to talk to you anymore Katara." Toph said crossing her arms again.

"Last time I looked, I wasn't Katara." Zuko said jokingly.

Toph's face immediately lit up at his voice, and she held her arms out. Zuko walked towards the bed, and leaning down over her, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips before getting back into the bed with her. He pulled her into his arms again, and sighed softly once more. "So what did Katara have to say?" he asked.

"She asked wether or not you'd asked me to have sex with you." Toph answered.

"And what did you tell her?" he asked.

"The truth, that I told you I wasn't ready and you said you'd wait." she said, snuggling into him.

"She believed you?"

"Yeah, I think that's why she wanted you to leave so she'd get a straight answer out of me." Toph commented with a short laugh.

"Oh, sounds interesting, I don't think she trusts me. Even after what I went through to show her that I am trustworthy." he said.

"Don't worry about her, she's got problems." Toph said softly, tilting her head up. Zuko leaned and kissed her softly, but just as he was about to pull away, Toph's hand pressed on the back of his neck holding him to her. He took the hint, and brushed his tongue over her bottom lip. She opened her mouth, and he pushed his tongue past her lips, tasting hers. She mingled her tongue with his tentatively, a small moan pulled itself from her, and Zuko's arms tightened around her waist pressing her flush to his body.

Her hand still rested on the back of his neck, but her other slid up and down his chest lightly. He pulled away from her, catching her roaming hand before it could get too low.

"Don't do that." he said.

She frowned. "Do what?" she asked. From her tone, and her expression, Zuko could tell that she was genuinely innocent.

"I'll tell you some other time." he said.

"No, tell me now so I know what I'm doing wrong." Toph said firmly.

"You didn't do anything wrong, it's just that if you... uh... touch the wrong places, stuff happens." Zuko said softly, obviously a little embarrassed.

"Oh, so that's…?" she questioned. He took her hand tracing her fingers over his lower stomach. "Below here..." he said. She pressed her palm flat against his stomach, as if trying to remember what that place felt like.

"I remember someone saying something about that. You get an er-erection?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"And what might that do?"

He almost laughed at her innocence, but held it back not wanting to offend her.

"That makes it possible for two people mostly a girl and a guy to-"

"Have sex. I learned something about that by listening to the lessons in school, I never understood it, because I can't see, but I think I get it now, I don't suppose you could show me?" she asked. "Not sex, I still don't think I'm completely ready for that, but your uh..." she trailed off.

Zuko frowned slightly, not saying anything, mostly because he didn't trust his voice. After a long pause he finally answered. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now." he said.

Toph nodded, moving her hand up his body, and hooking it over his shoulder.

"Okay." she said softly.

His arms wrapped around her, and he pulled her against him again. "Its not your fault." he said gently brushing his lips over her cheek.

She draped her arm over his shoulder, a small smile pulling at her lips.

"You should get some sleep." he said.

"Only if you kiss me again." she said tilting her head back again.

"Gladly." he said pressing his lips to hers softly in a sweet gentle kiss full of his love for her.

She snuggled into him as he pulled away. "You know, it's only been two days since the play, how could our relationship have grown so quickly?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but don't worry, I wouldn't leave you. Ever." he said.

Toph smiled and closed her eyes, falling into a deep exhausted sleep.

** Chapter one!**

**Chapter two be's up soon.**

**XD, I hope you like this, I worked really hard on it... I know I should work on other stories, but I finished this chapter soo...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Please... please review. I know you've been reading this...**  
-

Zuko detangled himself from Toph's embrace, and went down the hall to the bathroom.

He sat down in the corner, and reached into his boxers, wrapping his hand around his half-erection he began to stroke himself slowly, fighting with the moans that threatened to tear from him. He reached for the door with his free hand, and locked it, keeping any intruders out.

He continued jacking off, his breaths coming in quick gasps as he thought about things that turned him on, mainly Toph. He would wait until she was ready for him, he wasn't one to force himself on women, or girls for that matter. He reached for a cloth that was on the sink, just before his back arched, and he came into the cloth. He sat for a moment, catching his breath, before he cleaned himself up completely, and stood.

He washed the cloth off, more than once, and set it on the sink. He looked into the mirror, and frowned at his reflection, before exiting the room. He was on his way back to Toph's room when he bumped into Sokka.

"Sorry." he said catching his wrist to keep him from falling.

"S' okay." Sokka said groggily. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Back to Toph." Zuko answered.

"Gonna get lucky?" Sokka asked.

Zuko had an overwhealming urge to hit him, but held it back. "No."

"She's not giving in?" Sokka asked.

Zuko could feel his arm twitch, and wanted to knock Sokka right onto his ass for saying something like that.

"For your information, she's only twelve, and I don't feel like taking advantage of her. Just because you can't get enough sex doesn't mean that everyone else is like you. Furthermore, I'll only take her when she's completely ready, and comfortable, if you prefer it the other way, that's your problem." Zuko snapped shoving past Sokka and entering Toph's room. He stood against the door for a few moments calming himself.

Sokka walked back towards his and Suki's room. "Happy now? He's gonna think I'm a complete sicko." he said to his sister as she came out of the shadows.

"At least I know now that what Toph told me was true. He will wait." she said.

Sokka waved his hand at her, and went back into his room, muttering to himself.

Katara went to her door, silently promising herself that she wouldn't stick her nose where it didn't belong anymore as she walked to her bed, and climbed in next to Aang. She made the promise knowing that she'd probably break it.

Zuko walked softly across the floor, and stood just looking at Toph sleep.

"Zuko..." she said in a tired voice. "Zuko... I, love you."

She seemed to be talking in her sleep, and all Zuko did was listen. He stood next to the bed, looking down at her, her pale skin shining in the moonlight that washed over her. He waited for a while before he laid next to her on the bed, and immediately, as if she was attracted to his warmth, she wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. She let out a sigh, and that was the end of her talking. He knew that she'd been born blind, but he wondered what she saw when she dreamed and if she saw in the same way she did when she was concious.

He looked down at her, her arm draped over his chest, and her cheek pressed against his shoulder, she looked so innocent. He felt a twinge of pity for her, he knew all that had happened with her family since she had told him earlier, and he knew that the others still treated her like a fragile little girl who couldn't care for herself.

He saw another side of her, a capable young girl who had nerves of steel, and words almost as strong. A young woman who had so much to look forwards to in the future, the girl he would soon choose to be his bride. He smiled softly at the last thought, and closed his eyes, wrapping his arm around Toph's shoulder and falling to sleep.

Toph was first to wake, and she opened her eyes. She was pressed against something soft and warm, and when she reached out, her palm flattened over smooth skin, her fingers brushing softly over it.

Zuko sighed softly, and turned onto his back, Toph's hand still traced over his chest and stomach, and up his throat to his face. His eyes fluttered open, and he tilted his face into her hand. "Morning Toph." he said in a soft voice.

"Morning Zuko." she answered, her hand still brushing over his face.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"I had a strange dream about you." she answered with a frown. "But I can't remember any details."

"You said you loved me last night after you were asleep." he said kissing her softly.

"Well I do love you."

"And I you." he answered sitting up. He felt Toph's hand on his back as he stretched his arms above his head.

"You're really tense." she commented.

"Yeah." He answered, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing.

"I can help with that, we'll have to go outside though." Toph said standing as well, she reached for her clothes, identifying them by touch she pulled them on. "Do these match?" she asked. Zuko looked at her, and smiled. "It's all red, so yeah." he laughed softly.

And heard Toph's follow his as he pulled on his own clothes. He exited the room, and waited for Toph to follow. He listened to her confident footsteps, and smiled softly, nothing ever got her down did it? She reached out as she neared him, and he took her hand gently, leading her down the hall, and down the stairs, and to the kitchen.

She heard the swishing splash of Katara's waterbending as she stirred the pot over the fire. Zuko sat at the table, and Toph sat next to him. Without a word Katara put something in front of Toph, Zuko looked down at the oatmeal like substance and raised an eyebrow. Katara motioned for him to stay quiet, as Toph tapped her toes on the stone floor, causing it to move the table, knocking the bowl off of the edge. "Oops, clumsy me." she said shrugging, "I suppose I'll have to have something other than slop."

Zuko couldn't supress his smile, as he looked at Katara. Katara shook her head, and grabbed another bowl. This one full of rice. She handed Toph a pair of chopsticks, and she began to eat slowly, keeping her fingers hooked over the side of her bowl so she knew where it was.

Zuko watched her eat until Katara put a bowl in front of him along with a pair of chopsticks. He ate quickly, and pushed the bowl across the table.

"Tell Aang that I'm ready when he is." he said absently watching Toph again.

She'd finished, but was brushing her hands over the sides. "Glass is made of sand right?" she asked.

"Yeah why?" Zuko asked.

She put the bowl back on the table, and tapped the side of it softly. Flicking her free wrist, the bowl cracked clean in two. "Glass bending." she said in an amused voice.

Zuko clapped softly.

"Toph! That was a perfectly good bowl!" she said picking up the halves, and throwing them out. "And Aang is still asleep."

"Tired him out last night?" Toph asked with a smile.

Katara blushed, but didn't say anything. Zuko raised his eyebrow, had she done something with Aang, he asked himself. Toph stood, and pulled on Zuko's arm. "Come with me, I can help with your tenseness." Zuko stood, and followed her outside to the training yard. She stamped her foot on the ground, and pebbles shot up from the stone.

"Lay down over there." she said pointing at the ground away from the pebbles. Zuko walked over to where she pointed.

"On your stomach." Toph said.

He flipped over, and she lifted the pebbles from the ground, making them roll and bounce over his back firmly.

He let out a soft moan, and Toph smiled, knowing that she was indeed helping. She stood for a few more minutes massaging his back, she could feel each of his tensed muscles relax, and stopped, letting the pebbles roll off of his back. She moved forwards, and straddled his waist, holding him to the ground as her small, yet strong hands began to work on the muscles the earth couldn't reach. She massaged his shoulders and neck, with a firm yet gentle squeezing motion. He let out another moan, and heard footsteps, he turned and lifted his head to see Aang.

Aang smiled brightly seemingly knowing that it was just a massage. Zuko lifted his weight slightly, but Toph pushed him back down onto the ground. "Stay there until I'm done." she said.

Her hands slid gently down over his shoulderblades and back, caressing more than massaging. She moved her hands back up his back, as she felt Aang sit down, seemingly interested in what she was doing. Her hands moved over his shoulders, and up the back of his neck before into his hair where she massaged gently for a few moments until standing. Zuko rolled onto his back and sat up. Toph pulled him to his feet with a smile. "Now try firebending, I bet you'll find it easier." she said.

Zuko took a step back, spreading his legs, and spun his arms in a circle, causing a fire 'twister' which he then pushed away with a forward thrust of his arms. He watched the fire die down, before looking at Toph, "Yeah, it is easier." he admitted. "Thanks."

Toph shrugged, before a smile crossed her face. "What do you think you could learn from watching two masters duel?" she asked Aang, looking to where he was sitting.

"Alot!" he said in an excited voice using airbending to stand up.

"Okay, let's go Zuko..." she said. "unless you're afraid."

"Toph, I'm not fighting you." he said.

With a flick of her wrist, Toph sent all of the pebbles on the ground from before flying at him. He used his firebending to knock them away. "Toph..."

She ignored him, sending more rocks at him a smile on her face.

His expression soon mirrored hers, and he began to fight back, sending the fire past her, and at places she knew he would aim for. The ground was soon covered in scortch marks, and littered with rocks. Zuko was starting to get tired, and Toph could tell. She dropped the rock she was holding, and held up her hands. "Truce."

"Deal." Zuko said sounding a little winded. Toph smiled, and turned towards the general direction of Aang.

"Learn anything?" she asked with a smile.

"yeah! That was great!" he exclaimed. "You guys would make an awesome team. Together you're a force to be reckoned with." he said jumping to his feet.

Zuko looked at Toph, and saw a slight blush on her face, but it dissapeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"You should start with his training now Zuko." she said going to sit by a pillar.

Zuko nodded, and began with his lessons. Aang learned quickly, and easily, much different than when learning earthbending. Toph watched them through sonic vibrations, a small smile appearing on her face as she thought of what Aang had said. He was right of course, if Zuko and her worked together as a complete team, they would probably be nearly unstoppable. An hour or so passed until Aang had finally had enough. Zuko nodded softly, and Aang left the courtyard, going to get something to eat as he said.

Zuko sat next to Toph with a soft sigh. "Well, what do you want to do since it'll be a while until Aang wants to train more." Zuko wondered looking down at Toph.

Toph shrugged. "You want to show me now?" she asked in a soft voice, and Zuko knew that it was a continuation of their conversation from the night before.

"No, maybe some other time not too soon in the future." he said. His words were a startling contrast to his tone. His tone should have been bitter, but it was not, instead it was soft, and gentle as it always was when he spoke to Toph.

Toph nodded, deciding to not get defensive about it, but rather just trust that he only had her in mind.

"Okay then, why don't we go for a walk then?" she asked.

"Should we tell the others?"

"No, I'm sure they'll know that we can take care of ourselves." she answered standing.

Zuko followed her, entwining his arm with hers. They walked into the trees that surrounded the house. Once they got far enough away, Toph pulled her arm out of Zuko's, and pushed him down onto a rock that she slid forward for him to sit on.

"Tell me Zuko, why won't you give me a straight answer about... Well that?" she asked, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"I gave you a straight answer!" he said.

"No, you gave me the answer that Katara wants. I felt you leave me last night, and I followed you. I don't know what you were doing, but I know that it was probably something you thought you shouldn't have been, or else you wouldn't have locked the door." she said in a firm and logical tone.

"I-I just don't want you to think you have you do something you don't just to please me." he answered looking down at his hands.

Toph frowned before realization dawned on her. "What were you doing last night?" she asked.

"Nothing, just thinking." he lied.

Toph felt the change in him and narrowed her eyes. "you're lying." she hissed.

He looked up at her face, a surprised thrill going through him as he saw her looking straight at him as though she could see him, or at least most of him.

"I promise that I'll tell you one day Toph when you understand more, but it's just personal, and embarassing." he admitted.

Toph knew he was telling the truth, and nodded softly. She dropped slowly to her knees, and laid her head on his leg. She'd never paid attention to the vibrations that a person's entire body gave off but she focused on them, and leaned back away from him, her eyes moving up and down raking over his sonic image. She couldn't see the scar or anything like that, but she could see the lithe shape of his body, the way that his muscles were shaped and stretched under his skin.

She saw a few other details that his clothes hid from others, and bit her tongue harshly to keep from saying anything. She saw him turn towards her, and closed her eyes consentrating on other things as she let his image fade away. He knelt in front of her, and brushed his fingers over the side of her face gently, pushing her bangs out  
of her eyes. He leaned forwards and pressed his lips to hers gently. Her hands fisted in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. His fingers travelled down her back, tracing small circles before pressing into the small of her back, making her arch into him. Toph didn't feel the vibrations from the person approaching them until it was too late.

"Zuko!" someone said in a surprised voice, obviously thinking that Toph was trying to push him away since her hands were on his chest. Zuko's eyes flashed open, and almost as a reflex, Toph pushed him away, he slid on his toes about four feet having shifted his weight from his knees. He waited for the cloud of dust to settle before he stood up.

"What is it now Katara?" Toph asked before Zuko could say anything.

"Aang is ready for more training." she answered as Toph stood.

"Tell him he's learning more earthbending this time." she said.

Katara nodded, not wishing to start something she couldn't win, and ran off back towards the house. Toph walked slowly after her, and Zuko caught her hand. "Why is it always her that interrupts us?" Toph asked.

"I don't know." Zuko answered with a sigh.

They walked together back to the courtyard where Aang was airbending for practice. Zuko went to sit on the stairs while Toph stood in front of Aang. "Lets play catch." she said, and Aang nodded.

"We'll start out small." Toph said lifting a smaller boulder, and pushing it at Aang. He caught it, and threw it back at her. After a few more throws, she switched to a bigger one, then an even bigger one. Until they reached one about the size of Appa, then Aang dropped it and said he had enough. They'd been doing it for about three hours then, and Toph was starting to get hungry.

"Zuko, can you cook?" she asked.

"No, I tried once, and ended up using firebending, I burned everything, even the plates and bowls." he said with a laugh.

Toph laughed with him, and walked into the kitchen, ducking into the cupboard, and feeling around. Zuko stood behind her, enjoying the view before he mentally slapped himself, he couldn't think that way about her.

"Is this a potato or an apple?" she asked holding it out. "I can't tell... It's smooth, but has no bumps like an apple." she said. Zuko took it from her, and cut it open.

"It's a sugarroot." he said giving it back.

"A what?"

"Sugarroot, it only grows in these parts, I've only ever had one, they're really good." he said.

Toph shrugged and took a bite. "These are really good." she commented continuing to eat. Zuko wrapped the rest of it in a clean rag, and left it on the counter, Katara could use it for dinner.

"You're not going to eat?" Toph asked.

"Not hungry." Zuko said with a wave of his hand that she couldn't see she felt the wind though, and frowned softly. She finished the sugarroot, and moved around the counter towards Zuko. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest. His arms wrapped loosely around her, before he lifted her off of the floor. He set her on the counter, and moved forwards so he was standing between her knees. He placed his hands on either side of her, leaning forwards slightly. He wasn't quite kissing her, but he was close enough that when he exhaled, his breath blew softly over her face. She sighed, and closed her eyes, tilting her head back slightly.

Sokka, who had followed his stomach to the kitchen after he woke, stopped short as he saw Zuko and Toph. They didn't seem to be doing anything, but after a few moments, Zuko lifted his hand, and brushed his fingers over Toph's face. Sokka watched silently filing Zuko's moves away to maybe use on Suki. Zuko let his hand travel down the side of Toph's face, and her neck, pushing her collar out of the way, he flattened his palm over her bared shoulder. He leaned down, and pressed his lips to hers, moving them down over her neck, and suckling lightly on her collarbone. She gasped softly in pleasure, and tilted her head farther back. Sokka raised an eyebrow he'd thought that Zuko was going to wait for Toph to be ready. She opened her eyes, and pushed Zuko away and he let her, taking a step back.

"Sorry." he said.

Toph shook her head. "Its not your fault." she said, brushing her fingers over the side of her neck. "What did you do?" she asked feeling a slight bump.

"I just left a mark." he said with a smile.

"A mark?"

"Like a bruise only it doesn't hurt to get it." he answered.

"No, it doesn't hurt." she said.

Sokka moved a little, and Toph heard the shifting of fabric. She was sick of the interruptions, and she used her new bending to send a bowl across the room to hit the door jamb. "Go away!" she exclaimed, and Sokka was gone before Zuko could turn to see who it was.

He turned back to Toph. "Irritated?"

"Its like they don't know what privacy is." she said in an annoyed voice, hopping down off of the counter.

"I think I have an idea to get some privacy." he said softly taking her hand and leading her outside.

"Aang?" he asked when he saw him waterbending with Katara.

"Yeah?"

"Can we borrow Appa for the afternoon?" Zuko asked.

"I guess, where are you going?" Aang asked.

"I was going to take Toph into town for a bit, and see if there's anything she wants." Zuko answered.

His heart skipped, and Toph smiled softly, knowing he was covering for what he was planning.

"Oh yeah, sure." Aang said brightly believing him instantly.

Zuko smiled. "Thanks." he said walking away as Aang and Katara went back to waterbending.

He let Toph step on his hands again, and vaulted her up onto Appa. He climbed onto him, and took the reins. "Yip yip." he said, and Appa took off.

They flew on until they reached Ember Island, and landed near the forest.

"We'll be back in a while, sleep or something." Toph said to Appa who laid down, and yawned hugely. Zuko led her up to the city, taking her into a small shop near the entrance.

"How is this private?" she asked softly.

"later, I would like to do this first." he said.

"How can I help you?" a girl asked.

"She would like you to do her colours for her." Zuko said to her.

"Okay, just sit over there. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Where?" Toph asked turning her clouded eyes towards the girl.

"Over- oh sorry." the girl said leading her towards a chair before going into a back room.

"What have you gotten me into?" Toph asked Zuko with a small smirk.

"She's going to do your makeup." he answered.

"I don't think so-" Toph said trying to stand from her chair.

"Dont worry, I'll be here, and I'll make sure she does it right." Zuko said softly, pushing her back down into the chair.

Toph shook her head, but sat quietly.

"Okay! Let's see what I have to work with." the girl said in a cheerful voice.

She reached out to touch Toph's face, but she stiffened, and the girl pulled away.

"Um..." she said looking at Zuko.

He smiled. "Don't worry." he told her, brushing Toph's hair out of her eyes for her.

"Okay, that works." the girl said. She looked at Toph's face, and picked out a few colours, all of which were soft earth tones of brown, black and green. She worked on Toph's eyes first. "So, if you use a darker brown rather than black eyeliner, it brings out the green in your eyes." she said, applying the eyeliner slowly.

"So, are you like her brother or something?" she asked Zuko with a suggestive smile.

"No-" Zuko began.

"He's my boyfriend." Toph said cutting him off.

"Oh, how sweet! Are you a new couple then?" she asked.

"Relitively." Zuko answered.

The girl smiled. Zuko could barely look at her without laughing in his mind, her hair looked like someone had leeched all of the colour out of it, and Zuko found himself thinking of her as 'Blondy'.

"So is he a good kisser?" Blondy asked Toph, obviously thinking she was older.

"Very." Toph answered, and Zuko felt himself blush a little.

"Well, at least that's one good thing about him." she said looking at his face, mostly the scar.

"I know about the scar, and it doesn't bother me." Toph said sensing that that was what she was referring to.

"Of course, of course!" the girl said, her cheerful smile returning.

Obviously she had no idea who he was, and that was a good thing, she wouldn't go around telling people that she had seen Zuko and Toph in real life.

"Did he tell you about the scar?" Blondy asked.

"No, I can feel it, I have to use touch to see." she answered. Zuko smiled softly, still holding back Toph's hair. The girl reached for another colour.

"This light green eyeshadow will go well with your eyes, and hair." She said. "Green goes so well with black." she said beginning to apply that makeup.

Zuko leaned down as Toph reached back for him.

"Wait just one second, I must converse with him." she said turning her head as the girl pulled away.

"What does she mean by black, what colour are my eyes?" she asked in a whisper.

"Your eyes are very light green, your hair is black." he whispered back.

Toph nodded, and turned back to the girl who began again.

"So, how'd you get together?" she asked Zuko.

"Sorry, I'm not at liberty to answer that question." he said looking down at Toph.

"No comment." Toph said.

"Oh keeping quiet?" Blondy asked.

"Yeah." Toph answered in a finalizing tone. The rest of the colour testing went by quickly and silently. The girl seemed to notice that neither Zuko nor Toph were going to answer her stupid questions.

"There! Done!" the girl said gathering up her things, and leaving to put them away.

"You look beautiful." Zuko said moving around in front of Toph. "Not that you don't always look beautiful to me." he said moving away from her as the girl came back into the room.

"Okay, and for the new couple, this is free of charge unless you want to buy the makeup." the girl said.

"No, this is fine." Toph said standing.

"Alrighty! See you later then." the girl said sitting behind her desk and beginning to read again.

Toph left as quickly as she could, and stood outside for a moment before Zuko pulled her down the road.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Anything you want? Anything at all?" Zuko asked with a smile.

"To spend time with you..." she paused. "and, maybe a necklace of some sort?" she asked softly.

"So you ask, and so it shall be." Zuko said.

"Okay, drop the royal treatment thing, I got enough of that before." Toph said.

"Okay then." Zuko said knowing what she meant.

He led her into another shop that sold jewellery.

The salesman continuously tried to sell them expensive stone necklaces, but Toph didn't like how they felt, and the man switched to smaller things.

There was one that Zuko thought looked absolutely glorious draped around Toph's neck, and when she fiddled with it to see exactly what it looked like, a smile crossed her face.

It was plain silver with no stones, or anything in it. It was simplistic and yet drew the eye. There was a solid silver heart with the words 'my love' written in loopy scrawl over it. Toph nodded, and handed it back to the man Zuko paid, and they left the store. The people seemed to have forgotten about the play a couple days back, and so no one approached them about it.

Zuko led Toph down to the forest, and they sat on the grass together in a small clearing. Zuko put the pendant around Toph's neck, and kissed her softly and they talked for a while before they left.

Appa was still where they'd left him, fast asleep.

Toph woke him, and they flew back to the house. By the time they got there, it was night, and everyone was inside.

They entered the sitting room together, and everyone looked up from what they were doing.

"There you are, we were starting to get worried." Katara said with a smile.

Suki reached out and gingerly plucked the pendant from off of Toph's chest. "What's this?" she asked with a frown. She read the words just before Toph slapped her hand away, wrapping her fingers around her newest prized possession.

"That's sweet, did you buy that for her Zuko?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, it was meant to be for Appa, but seemed to fit her better." he said with a laugh, and everyone joined in, even Toph.

They sat close together on the remaining couch, and looked at the fire, well Zuko looked at the fire, Toph studied him with feeling.

Katara watched as Zuko looked down at Toph slowly, lifting her face to see her better. He brushed his fingers over the side of her face, and she smiled leaning into his touch.

"So who went to the kitchen today after I was done training Aang, and before we left?" Toph asked looking blankly out into the room.

"Sokka was the only one to go there that early." Suki answered. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Toph answered with a smile. Sokka stood and stretched. "I think I'll go to bed." he said.

"Just a second, I want to talk to you." Toph said following him out of the door. Zuko sighed, and stood slowly standing in front of the fire for a second, making the flames dance about wildly before he followed.

Sokka stopped about halfway up the stairs.

"Sorry for throwing that bowl at you." Toph said with a grin.

"Oh, it's okay, sorry for interrupting you." he said with a sheepish smile.

"Yeah. So... I guess we should get to sleep." Toph said awkwardly.

"Okay, good idea." Sokka said rushing up the stairs.

"Did I hear right, or did you just apologise to Sokka?" Zuko asked wrapping his arms around Toph from behind.

"You heard right." Toph answered, pulling him up the stairs.

Zuko laughed gently. "Okay, where to?" he asked.

"My room." Toph said softly.

Zuko pulled her through the door, and closed and locked it before looking back at her. Toph was sitting in the center of the bed, and when she heard him move, she motioned him forwards.

He moved towards her, sitting next to her on the bed. She pulled his arm motioning that she wanted him to sit in front of her, and so he did.

"I've been thinking about it all day, and I'm pretty sure I'm ready for you." Toph said, pulling him forwards.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"Im ready Zuko." she repeated.

Zuko pulled away from her, and stood from the bed. "Not tonight Toph." he said softly.

"Zuko..." Toph began.

"No, not tonight." he said in a firm voice.

"You want this, and I can feel it." Toph hissed.

"No." he said. "I don't want you." he froze and his heart skipped three or four beats as he realized what he'd just said.

Toph felt something inside of her break again, and let out a small gasp. "Fine, then maybe you can sleep alone tonight." she said, and Zuko felt something inside of himself become cold. He unlocked the door, and jerked it open, closing it as he left. He walked down the hall to his room, and closed the door behind himself. He sat on the edge of the bed, burying his face in his hands, and thinking about what an idiot he was for saying something like that. Toph had every right to be mad at him, and he knew it.

Toph listened to Zuko's retreating footsteps, and buried her face in her pillows, tears streamed from her eyes, making the pillow damp.

She cried until she couldn't anymore then she lay silently with her eyes open, not caring about anything. She scrubbed her face on her blanket, getting the rest of the stupid makeup off before she stood. She opened her door, and silently walked down the hall, pausing at each door to listen for Zuko. After a few tries she found him, his breathing was even so she figured he must be asleep. She opened the door quietly, and walked softly across the floor towards the sound of his breathing. She reached out hesitantly, and he watched her every move, he hadn't been asleep, only thinking. Her hand brushed over his chest, and he pressed his hand onto the back of hers.

"Zuko, I'm sorry." she said softly.

"No, I shouldn't have said what I did, I do want you, and I do love you, but that's the problem. I want you too much, and you're accepting me because you want to please me, right?" he asked.

"No, I do want you, all of you, I got a good look at you earlier, and I do want you." she answered.

Zuko rolled over, and kissed her softly, pulling her onto the bed with him as he rolled back onto his back.

"Not tonight Toph, I still don't feel completely comfortable." he said with a smile. Toph nodded, and snuggled into his side, she entwined her fingers with his, both of her hands holding his.

"I love you." Zuko said softly, kissing the back of her hand.

"I love you too." Toph said with a sigh as Zuko's arm pulled her closer.

Katara woke with a burning thirst and she had none of her bending water left, so she got out of bed quietly. Aang caught her wrist, and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You promised." he said softly.

"Im going to get a drink, I know I can trust Zuko with her now so I won't bother them." she lied, and Aang let his hand slide from her wrist. He smiled softly at her as she left the room, and rolled over to go to sleep again.

She passed Toph's room, only pausing because the door stood wide open. She looked inside, and shook her head at the mess, she'd have to clean it tomorrow. The blankets were strewn all over the floor, and the pillows were the same way, obviously Toph had gotten annoyed with something, and did all of this before leaving. Where was she?

Katara continued down the hall, and saw Zuko's door closed so they were probably in there. She shrugged and continued towards the kitchen, getting a drink, and turning to go upstairs. She ran into Suki on the way. She was wearing a short Kimono and didn't seem to have anything on under it.

"Katara, hi!" she said, jumping out of the way.

"I don't want to know what you did with Sokka, so don't tell me." she said walking by her. Suki sighed softly and entered the kitchen.

"Okay, what was it he wanted?" she asked herself quietly walking to the cupboard. She found some fireflakes, and put them into a bowl. He'd said snack so this was what he was going to get. She also grabbed a glass of water, and hurried back upstairs. Sokka sat up, and looked at her enter the room, a smile on his face.

"You know, I think I could wait to eat for a while, would you like that?" he asked. Suki looked at him, her own smile crossing her face at his suggestive look.

"I guess I could be okay with that." she said putting the water and food on the small table by the bed.

She climbed onto the bed, and leaned down to kiss Sokka, his hands worked at the knot to take her Kimono off...

Zuko pulled his hand out of Toph's relaxed fingers, and wrapped both of his arms around her. She sighed tiredly, and wrapped her own arms around his shoulders. He hoped that she wouldn't be bothering him about the sex thing now, but looking down at her sleeping face, he could only think of how beautiful she looked.

It was hours later when Zuko finally felt the pull of exhaustion that he finally fell asleep. Toph once again was first to wake, she wasn't in Zuko's embrace now, and reached out. Her hand smoothed over his back, and she smiled, getting up from the bed. She wasn't used to this room, and it took her a minute to find the door, when she finally did, she left the room, leaving the door open a little so he knew she left. She walked down the hall, realizing that her room was farther from the stairs than his, so she walked slowly not feeling like falling down the stairs. She felt the edge of the stairs under her foot, and walked down them slowly. She wasn't used to being alone since she'd had a twenty-four hour companion for the last week or so. She walked into the sitting room alone, and all conversations stopped.

"It's just me." she said, sitting on the couch her and Zuko usually used.

"Where's Zuko?" Suki asked. "You're usually inseperable."

"He's asleep, he decided to stay up really late last night." she answered.

"What was he doing?"

"Knowing him, probably watching me sleep."

"Oh, that's sweet." Suki said with a soft smile.

"Yeah." Toph said, fiddling with her necklace again. She traced her fingers over the words, but couldn't read them, she realized that Zuko hadn't told her what it said, and if he had, she hadn't been listening.

"Katara?" she asked feeling that she was closest.

"Hmm?"

"What does this say?" she asked.

"Uhh, my love." Katara answered.

"Thanks." she said sitting back into the couch, and fiddling with it again.

About half an hour later Zuko woke slowly with a yawn, stretching his entire body, and sitting up. He saw that the door was open, and got out of bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt, having taken it off last night, and didn't feel like finding another one to put on. He pulled the door open, and walked down to where he was sure everyone was now. He entered the room, and stopped. Everyone but Toph had turned their eyes towards him, he raised his hands.

"Am I under arrest?" he asked jokingly.

"No just interrogation." Sokka answered.

"Youre usually the first one up, why the change of sleeping habits?" Suki asked.

Zuko looked at Toph, then at everyone else. "Why does it matter that much?" he asked.

Suki shrugged. "Just wondering, Toph has been telling us some things." She said.

Zuko looked at Toph, his amber eyes questioning, and a frown on his face. What had she told them?

Toph reached out, a smile on her face, "They mean you watching me sleep thing. But I think they meant to make it sound like you were on trial for a reason." she said with a laugh. "But don't worry, I would never testify against you."

Zuko smiled taking her hand, and sitting next to her. Her free hand travelled over his arms and chest, a small smile on her face.

Katara and Suki watched her while Aang and Sokka had a conversation about weapons.

Suki seemed genuinely interested in what Toph was doing, and Katara seemed to be watching like a mother watches when her child pets a big dog.  
Toph's hand continued it's journey south, and Suki's eyes widened. She wouldn't do that right in front of everyone, would she?

Zuko's hand caught her wrist, and Toph nodded softly. He let her go, and she smoothed her palm over his stomach again getting a 'feeling' of him. She made her way back up his body, her expression becoming one of consentration.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked her.

"Remembering what you look like." Toph answered.

Suki smiled softly, leaning forward a bit, Katara mirrored her.

Zuko was aware of everyone else, but Toph was not. He caught her hand with his, and leaned forwards, all conversation stopped again, but Zuko only smiled.

"Can we do this later? The object of your fastination has become a little edgy, being on stage in front of an audience and all." he said softly with another smile.

Toph smiled as well, wrapping her arms around him, and resting against him. "Okay." she said cheerfully. Zuko leaned back against the couch. "Continue with your conversations, nothing more to see here." he said, and everyone laughed, the tenseness seemed to have been broken and everyone resumed their conversations from before. Zuko only spoke when he had to, or when others spoke to him, and Toph was the same. They sat quietly, happy to just be close together, and not have to explain themselves. Katara's eyes travelled to them every so often, and she smiled, their relationship seemed so loving, and happy. She'd bet they hadn't even had a really bad fight yet.

Toph pulled herself out of Zuko's embrace and left the room without a word.

"Where's she going?" Suki asked.

Zuko shrugged, "If she didn't tell me where she's going, or how long she's going to be gone, she doesn't want me to know." he said looking at his nails. "And she doesn't want me to go with her."

Katara nodded, at least he gave her space. Toph entered the room again a few minutes later, and sat next to Zuko again. She slid something onto his right hand, and smiled "It was meant for someone else, but they didn't stick around to deserve it." she said.

Zuko looked at his hand, and smiled softly. It was a silver ring with a black stone in the middle that had swirling gold and orange in it.

"Where'd you get a flamestone?" he asked.

"My father gave it to me before I left, and told me that I was to give it to the one I thought deserved it." she said.

"And there was someone else."

"I considered him for a very brief period of time, but it's said that you give away your heart when you relinquish posession of the flamestone." Toph said softly. "Accept for when you loose it, or loan it away."

Zuko looked down at the ring again, it fit him perfectly, almost as though it was made for him. He squeezed Toph's shoulders. "thanks." he said kissing her cheek softly.

As noon neared, Aang seemed to get more edgy, and went for a swim. He kissed Katara before he left as if he thought he wasn't coming back.

The comet was going to be there tomorrow, and they only had a short period to get ready while Aang was off for his swim or as Zuko liked to say, finding himself.

Katara went through the plan she had in her mind, Zuko and her would take Appa and go to the palace to head off Azula before she could become firelord.

Toph, Sokka, and Suki would 'borrow' a ride from the island, and would find the firenation fleet before it could take off.

"No." Toph said.

"No?" everyone else asked.

"If I go with anyone it will be Zuko." she said linking her arm with his.

"Fine." Katara said going over the plan again, and switching names. Zuko nodded slowly, and stood, pulling Toph with him. She didn't resist as he pulled her out of the room, and up the stairs. He entered her room surprised to see it clean, and closed the door. He pushed Toph against it, pinning her to the wood as he leaned down, and kissed her softly.

"What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly as he pulled away.

"I just wanted to ask you a question." he said.

"Ask away then." she said wrapping her fingers around his wrists.

"Are you sure you want to face Azula?" he asked.

"Yeah, bring it fireman!" she said in an amused voice.

"Fireman?" he asked.

"Or... I could call you just Zuko." she said with a blush.

Zuko laughed gently, and leaned down to kiss her again. Someone knocked on the door, and Toph pulled away from it violently as though the vibrations hurt her. Zuko wrapped his arms around her, and looked darkly at the door.

"What?" he demanded.

"What are you guys doing?" Suki asked.

"We were talking, now please go away." Zuko said.

"Yeah but..."

"Get out of here!" Toph yelled turning to scream at the door.

Suki's retreating footsteps could be heard as she ran back downstairs.

"Wow, you either really don't like her, or you're really annoyed with all of them." Zuko commented.

"Both." Toph said softly, leaning against him again.

"Hmm, okay." he said tilting her head back to kiss her softly again. Her hands travelled up his chest, and neck to bury themselves in his hair. She pulled him closer, opening her mouth to him. He greatfully accepted her offer, and slid his tongue into her mouth, sliding it over hers. The door opened a small crack and someone looked inside, just before Zuko pushed Toph back to rest on it. The door clicked shut from their combined weight, and soft footsteps could be heard going down the hall. Toph moaned softly into Zuko's mouth as his hands moved over her. He moved his mouth down the side of her neck, sucking softly just under her ear.

"Zuko, what are you doing?" she asked in a breathless whisper. She felt him kneel in front of her, and her hands moved over his face. He slid his fingers into the bottom of her shirt, pulling it up a little. He leaned forwards, kissing her stomach softly, smiling against her skin as she gasped at the sudden contact. He continued his journey over her flat stomach, pushing her shirt up with each kiss. He got about midway up her torso before he stopped, and went back down, slicking his tongue over her skin in slow circles. A small breathy moan escaped her at his ministrations, and someone pounded on the door again.

"Zuko! I have to talk to you!" Katara called out.

"I'm a little busy right now." Zuko said, pulling Toph's shirt down, and pulling one of his own on.

"I have to talk to you now!" she demanded. The glass lamp behind Zuko exploded as Toph clenched her fists in anger.

"What do you want Katara?" she asked, jerking the door open so hard it nearly came off the hinges.

"I have to talk to Zuko." she said.

"No! If you want to say something so bad, say it in front of everyone!" Toph screamed, Zuko could see her trembling with rage, and reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder. The glass lifted itself from the floor with a clatter as Toph's fingers twitched.

Zuko got between them. "Enough!" he said sounding exhasperated.

"You go until she's calmed down." he said pointing at Katara.

"Fine, I'll be back." she said turning and walking briskly down the hall. Zuko closed the door, and looked back at Toph, she was still trembling, and the glass was rising steadily higher.

"Toph, Toph listen to me love. Toph, you have to calm down, it's okay, she's gone. Listen to my voice." he said holding her face in his hands. He leaned forwards and kissed her, and the glass fell to the floor, splintering more. Her hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him forwards. He pulled his lips away, and wrapped his arms around her. Her own arms snaked around his waist, and her small hands fisted in the back of his shirt.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, burying her face in his chest. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, calm down, nothing bad happened." he said softly.

Toph pulled away from him, looking just past him. "I think I'll go outside, I have to break something." she said, pulling him out of the door. Katara caught his wrist on the way out, and Toph's expression turned sour.

"No, go love, I'll be right behind you." he said, and Toph let him go, pushing open the doors, and leaving. They heard the crushing of rocks moments after that.

"What do you want?" Zuko asked Katara, a note of irritation in his voice.

"What do you think you're doing with her?" she demanded in a hushed tone.

"I wasn't doing anything with her.. I-"

"Sokka tells me different." she said cutting off. "He tells me that you're using her. That you only want her around to vent your frustrations on."

"I am not abusive!" he hissed.

"I didn't say you were, I said frustrations." Katara answered.

"I would never use her for that!" Zuko said, his voice getting louder in anger. "What don't you get about this? I love her! I would do anything for her, if I so needed to, I would die for her!" he exclaimed.

"Are you sure that this isn't just something that you think?" she asked, something hot began to burn near her leg, and she looked down. Zuko's entire hand was engulphed in flame, and he had a dangerous expression on his face.

"I don't think I love her, I do love her, and if you have a problem with that, talk to someone else!" Zuko said, letting the fire die out. "I have always loved her, almost since first laying eyes on her. And if you all have a problem with that… you can all just go to hell!" he said storming out of the house. He went over to Toph who was a ways away, breaking chunks off of boulders with her bare hands. She sensed his anger, and used her bending to bend a rock high into the sky. Using his own bending, Zuko obliterated the rock within seconds. After a few minutes of this, Zuko felt his anger begin to fade, and felt guilt, and dissapointment in it's place. He dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands. Toph felt the vibrations from him, and wrapped her arms around him, kneeling next to him.

"They don't believe me. It's like they don't think I'm capable of loving you, they always think I have some kind of darker intention when I never do. I'm not evil, the only reason I'd ever done wrong in my life was because I was misled, because I knew no better. I'm not a bad person, I never have been, it's like they think that my father passed his anger, and maliciousness to me the day he gave me this scar. That's all it is, it's a scar, a reminder of a dark past that's not worth remembering. I didn't ask to be a firebender, and I didn't ask to be the firelord's son. I trained hard, and acted like someone I wasn't just to please him, to make him proud of me. But I never liked hearing about the killings, or the burning and pillaging of innocent peoples homes. The guards that talked about raping young earth kingdom women, and killing their children while they were forced to watch... all of that sickened me. I thought that I could do something about it after I was banished, and did my best while I was looking for Aang. I asked my uncle for help, and he seemed to understand why I wanted to do it. He was the only father I ever knew, and I turned on him, sent him to prison and now I have no idea where he is. I don't know if I'll ever see him again. You're the only good thing in my life now, and they'll probably try to take you away too. Toph, I love you. I love you too much to let you go, I couldn't live without you. I need you to understand, I need you to stand by me. I love you so much." he said leaning into her embrace.

Toph listened to his confession, feeling touched by his words. He seemed so strong on the surface, but he was sensitive, and he really did care what others thought. Toph felt a tear run down her cheek, and reached up to brush it away. Zuko's hand caught hers, and he kissed her knuckles. "I love you Toph." he whispered.

"I love you too Zuko, and I always will. I will always be with you, no matter how far apart we are." she said softly to him, tapping the ring softly. "I gave you my heart, and it's yours to keep." she continued. Zuko looked at her, a soft smile on his face. He heard something behind him, and turned to see everyone else standing at the door, all but Aang. Katara had covered her mouth but from the glazed look of her eyes, she'd been crying. Suki was openly sobbing softly into Sokka's shoulder, and Sokka was just looking at him and Toph, a soft expression on his face, it was obvious that he realized his mistake, but Zuko wasn't going to let him off that easy. Toph stood, pulling Zuko to his feet, she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It's okay now." she said softly. "I'm okay, and you're okay, and nothing can change that, not while we're together."

Zuko smiled gently, hugging her back. "Im so lucky to have you." he whispered into her ear. Katara moved forwards to speak to them, but Sokka caught her sleeve, pulling her inside, and closing the door.

"Leave them alone, this time it was mostly my fault because I told you what I saw, but if you continue to put words into my mouth, I'm going to stop backing you up, and telling you anything about them. I'm also going to stop doing your dirty work for you from now on, if you want to know stuff, do it yourself. I'm surprised that you haven't been able to tear them apart yet. He loves her, and she loves him, leave it be." Sokka said, holding onto Suki's hand gently.

Katara's mouth dropped open. "Im not trying to split them up." she said.

"Maybe not, but it seems that you are. You tell her one thing, and him something different. I'm going to say this once, leave them alone now, they don't need this, their bond is too strong to break, it has hardly bent since the beginning, they're inseparable. They need space, so give it to them, give them the same courtesy that you give Suki and I." Sokka said softly, walking towards the sitting room with Suki.

Katara was confused now, but decided to follow Sokka's advice, she turned and went upstairs, needing some time to think.

**Chapter two... this one is a bit more random, but that doesn't mean that I didn't work hard on this one too. Chapter three coming soon.**

**Fanfiction fucked up the last chapter, soo... I'll be fixing it too. okay?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Please... please review. I love getting reviews, it makes me feel that I know what I'm doing, and that I'm not wasting my time.**

Toph felt the retreating footsteps of all of the others, and heard the door close. She wondered what they'd been talking about, but pushed the thought out if her mind, there were more important things to worry about, mainly Zuko. She sighed softly, enjoying the warmth of Zuko's embrace, and listening to the beat of his heart. The even, steady thumping lulled her until she was nearly asleep. She felt Zuko lift her, and put up no resistance as he carried her somewhere, she closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, actually enjoying the feeling of not being firmly on the ground. She was sure that she fell asleep because the next thing she knew, Zuko was shaking her softly, and she was laying in or rather on something soft.

"Toph?" he questioned quietly.

She opened her eyes, not that it made any difference but letting him know that she was awake.

"Good evening." he said.

"Evening?" she asked. "Where are we?"

"Near a hotsprings I found, I thought I would let you sleep, you seemed exhausted." Zuko answered.

Toph sat up, and stretched yawning softly.

"Hotsprings?" she asked.

Zuko took her hand and guided it to the hot water, she gasped softly at the feeling, but her eyes lit up in slight excitement.

She sat up, and brushed her dry hand over Zuko's face, her expression softening to one of wonder.

"How is it that I deserve you?" she asked softly.

"You deserve everything you could ever want." Zuko answered kissing her cheek. She moved her face so that she was kissing him on the mouth. She pulled her hand out of the water, and wrapped her arm around his waist. She laid back, pulling him with her, he resisted, pushing her away.

"That hurts you know." she said.

"What?" he asked worried that he was actually hurting her.

"Pushing me away like that, it makes me think you don't want me." she answered.

"Of course I want you, I always have, but now is not the time." he said, pulling her to her feet.

"We're not going to stay here?" she asked.

"We can come back someday." he said.

She thought over his words, what was wrong with tomorrow?- the comet...  
The comet was going to pass over tomorrow, and they would have to fight Azula, and Aang would have to fight the firelord.

Speaking of Aang where was he, shouldn't he have been back?

If Zuko had the same worries, he didn't show them. He held Toph close to him, his arms squeezing her gently, his eyes were closed, and he had his head tilted down towards her. He whispered soft words in her ear, and she sighed softly, resting her head on his chest.

Zuko let her go, and led her back towards the house slowly, enjoying what could be his last few precious hours with her. He opened the door slowly, almost as though he was afraid that the others would be directly on the other side. He walked inside, shutting the door with a quiet creak, and pulled Toph past the sitting room. Sokka was watching him, his face completely expressionless while Suki slept soundly on his chest. Zuko shivered slightly at the look, and continued on up the stairs Toph following closely behind him. Katara heard the footsteps, and rushed to her door, pulling it open she started down the hall.

Zuko saw her and a scowl passed over his face just before he pushed Toph gently through the bedroom door before closing, and locking it. Katara stopped, hurt filling her chest. She'd never had anyone look at her like that, and she really didn't like it. She remembered Sokka's words though, and turned heading back to her own room.

"You didn't have to push." Toph said. "I could hear someone, and if you'd told me who it was, I would've been the one pushing."

Zuko looked down at her, "I think you should talk to her, I don't think I can face her without setting her hair on fire, at least not for a while. Not after what she said about you and me." he said softly.

Toph stood there contemplating it before she nodded slowly. "I suppose you're right, but I may not be able to forgive her." she answered, turning towards the door.

"You want some help?" Zuko asked her.

"No, just tap your foot or something so I can see." she answered.

Zuko smiled softly, tapping his foot softly on the floor as she walked towards Katara's room.

She stopped in front of the door, and knocked softly, stepping back as she heard footsteps. She seemed to be doubting herself, like she wanted to run back, and throw herself into Zuko's arms.

The tapping stopped as Katara opened her door. "Toph?" she asked. "What is it, is something wrong?"

"No, I just wanted to apologise for both me and Zuko for the way we've been acting." Toph said.

"Oh, well could you tell Zuko that I am sorry to both of you for the things I said and did, my behavior was inexcusable." Katara answered.

"I'll tell him that." Toph answered turning and walking back down the hall. She stopped in front of the door for a moment before opening it. Zuko reached out and took her hand, pulling her into the room.

Toph landed comfortably against his chest with a small gasp of surprise. The door clicked as it was locked, and Toph felt herself being pulled away from it towards the bed.

She couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't nervous about being locked in a room with the prince of the fire nation, but she knew that he wouldn't do anything to her.

He turned her around, and pashed her gently so that she sat on the bed. He sat against the bed next to her legs, and rested his head on her knee.

"So what did she have to say?" he asked.

"She said that she was sorry for the things she said, and that her behavior was inexcusable." she answered.

Zuko smiled softly, before his eyes closed as Toph's hand brushed through his hair. She massaged his scalp softly, digging in with her fingertips just enough to make it feel good. There were footsteps in the hall, and Toph's hand stopped, but they just passed by without so much as a pause. She continued running her hands through her hair, moving her knee around him so she had a leg on either side of him. Her calves rested against his shoulders, and her toes barely touched the floor, but now she could use both hands. Her hands moved slowly over his skin, down his neck, and finally to his shoulders.

She pulled on the shirt, and taking the hint, Zuko pulled it off. He smiled softly as he thought that it was only a few hours ago that he'd put it on, just before Katara had decided to tell him what he was doing with Toph. Her hands moved over his skin, massaging his muscles firmly. She had stopped punching him after he kissed her, but he was the only one, so only the bruises on his arms were gone. He leaned his head against her thigh, closing his eyes, and just enjoying her ministrations... for someone so young, she had very talented fingers, but that was probably from being an earthbender. She started to hum what sounded like a lullaby, and soon Zuko was nearly asleep. Toph felt his heartrate slow, and smiled to herself, he needed sleep. She continued humming something she remembered from early childhood, just the first part over and over, the part that she remembered was long enough that it didn't get boring, and she continued singing softly, and caressing Zuko's skin for over an hour.

When Zuko awoke, he felt her warm hands travelling over him, and her soft voice still singing that same lullaby. He caught one of her hands, and her singing stopped. A shiver went up Zuko's spine at the sudden deathly silence.

"Can you try to tell me how long I was out?" he asked.

"At least an hour, or more." she answered.

Zuko nodded, and stretched feeling his relaxed muscles tense before relaxing again. He felt great, better than he ever had before, and he hoped the feeling would last this time.

She started to hum again, her hands moving over his skin again, but this time it was more like the touch from that morning, searching, and exploring.

Zuko sighed and leaned forward a bit, bringing his knees up to rest his arms on.

Toph knelt behind him, her hands still moving over his back even as she leaned forwards. Zuko felt another shiver as she pressed her lips to the back of his shoulder lightly her singing stopping again. She bit down lightly, before sucking on the spot, Zuko sighed again and lifted his head from his arms, enjoying her warm lips on his shoulder.

She moved away from that spot, and continued on leaving a nearly perfect line of seven marks in a row down over his shoulder blade. She stopped when her tongue started hurting from the sucking motions.

"Is it normal for my tongue to hurt?" she asked resting her chin on his shoulder.

Zuko laughed softly. "Yeah, until you devealop a technique that'll stop that."

"Could you teach me that?" she asked.

"Everyone has their own technique, you'll just have to make your own." he said with another soft laugh.

Toph sighed and wrapped her arms around his bare waist from behind, resting against his back.

Zuko's hands closed over hers, and he rested his head against hers.

"I love you Toph. I won't let anyone ever take you away from me." he whispered.

"I love you too. And no one would even dare to try to drag me away from you." Toph answered in a hushed tone.

Zuko laughed, and Toph released him, he stood taking her hands and pulling her to her feet. He held her close for a few moments before leading her to the door, down the hall, and into the sitting room.

"What do you have against shirts Zuko?" Suki asked, she'd obviously just woken up, but she sounded cheerful.

"Nothing, I-" Zuko began.

"Its what I have against shirts on him." Toph finished.

Suki laughed.

"Who else is here?" Toph asked softly.

"All but Aang." Zuko answered.

Toph nodded slowly, and sat down Zuko followed her, but Suki's surprised gasp made him stop.

"What?" he asked turning towards her.

"What's on your back?" she asked.

He blushed softly, looking at the floor and not answering. Sokka leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

"Oh, it's just that they look black in the fire-light." she said back to him.

Zuko sat down next to Toph with a huff, and she laid her leg over his, sitting as close to him as she could without being part of him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, a small smile on her face. His arm encircled her shoulders, holding her close.

"So tomorrow is the day..." Sokka said softly.

"Yeah..." Zuko answered with a look at Toph.

Sokka stood, and stretched. "Zuko, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

Zuko had a little bit of a hard time detangling himself from Toph's arms. It seemed that she didn't want to let him go. "I'll be right back." he said softly, and she finally let him go.

He followed Sokka out into the hall.

"Zuko, has Toph said anything out of the ordinary to you?" he asked.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, you know..." he trailed off.

"Not out of the ordinary. No." he said.

"Okay, well has she... You know, offered anything?" he asked.

Zuko narrowed his eyes, and stared at Sokka for a long moment. "Yeah." he said.

"Oh well that's a start to this conversation. You do know she's only doing it for you

right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I haven't accepted if that's what your next question is going to be." he said.

"I think you should." Sokka said.

Zuko's eyes flashed a moment before he shoved Sokka up against the wall. "Why's that?" he hissed.

"Because she knows that one of you could die, and she probably wants to give you everything before that happens." Sokka answered with a wince of pain.

"Neither of us is going to die, we have too much to live for." Zuko said releasing Sokka.

"And if by some slim chance she does die, how long will you mourn for her?" Sokka asked.

"The rest of my life..." Zuko answered softly, walking away.

He went back to Toph, pulling her to her feet, and taking her upstairs.

They slept soundly wrapped in eachother's embrace until the morning came.

Team Avatar landed on Ember island, Sokka went off in search of a ride while Katara and Suki said their goodbyes to Toph and Zuko who got onto Appa, and flew off.

They flew for a long while before they finally got to the fire nation palace. Azula was just about to be 'queened' firelord when Appa landed in the middle of the courtyard with a mighty roar. Zuko jumped off of him, closely followed by Toph. Appa took off again sure to stay away from the battlefield.

Zuko talked to Azula for about a minute, and Toph listened to her voice, looking over her sonic image.

"Zuko, she's a couple plums short of a fruit pie, she has gone completely insane." she said softly. Zuko listened to her words, looking over Azula himself. Toph was right, she'd lost it.

"I can probably take you both." Azula said with a sneer, pushing everyone back. They all went inside the palace, away from the two siblings plus Toph.  
Azula made the first move, and Zuko easily countered it. Toph stood off to the side, waiting for the time to strike.

Zuko countered every one of Azula's attacks, and Toph protected herself well. Although one blow was a little close, Toph felt the heat pass her face, and singe her bangs, but she ignored it setting up shields.

Then something in the atmosphere changed, the air became denser, and Toph could feel the electricity... lightning.

Azula was bending lightning, but just as she was supposed to aim for Zuko, she sent the bolt towards Toph. Toph knew it was coming at her, she could feel the hairs on her skin stand on end, she felt Zuko move, a cry of denial tore from her throat, as the lightning hit him.

"Zuko..." she whispered. She felt him curl onto his side in pain, and turned towards

Azula, pain and anger burning in her pale eyes.

Azula sent fire her way, but Toph could see her movements and sheilded against each attack. Azula was quick, but Toph knew what her moves would be before she made them. Toph began to form something to keep Azula still, and the princess moved right into the trap. Before she could figure out her mistake, Toph sealed Azula in rock stopping her from bending. She stood for a few moments before rushing to Zuko. She dropped to her knees, and pulled him into her arms. She felt the blood, and tears began to fall from her face.

"Zuko?" she questioned softly. She could feel his heartbeat, but it was weak.

"Zuko?" she asked. "Zuko, please!"

She bent her head over him, her body shaking with sobs.

"You can't die, you can't! I need you, I love you. Please, Zuko!" she sobbed. She could hear Azula's deranged laughter in the background.

Zuko could hear her words, but they were so far away, he had to go back to her, but he was comfortable, the pain was gone.

"Zuko! You can't die on me! You promised you'd be with me forever!" Toph screamed as she felt his heart grow weaker.

Her words brought the pain back, he had turned his back on her, and if he died, he could never rest peacefully.

He heard everything now, but the noise hurt, and the light made his eyes ache when he opened them.

"Zuko..." Toph whispered again.

He lifted his hand, it was so heavy, but he lifted it anyways, and brushed his fingers over her face.

Her hand pressed against his, and she opened her own eyes, the pale orbs shining with hope.

"Toph..." he breathed, before his eyes fluttered closed, and his arm went slack.

He woke in his old bed, fresh bandages around his waist. He could feel Toph's arms around him, and hear her soft singing. Her voice wavered softly as though she was on the verge of crying again.

Zuko wrapped his arms around her, and her singing stopped with a gasp of his name he looked down at her and saw purplish marks on her arms. He pulled her arm straight, and looked down at the bruised handprint. He compared it to his own hand, but the bruise was too wide to be from him.

"Who did this?" he asked with a hiss.

"One of the guards, he tried to pull me away from you, I wouldn't go." she answered.

Zuko looked down at her again, and could see streaks on her face from her tears.

"You took down Azula by yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah, I had my rage helping me along." she said softly. "You really scared me, I thought I was going to loose you."

"Im sorry. You know that I would never leave you alone, but I came very close." he whispered back to her.

Toph tilted her head up, and kissed him softly, the kiss became deeper as Zuko tightened his embrace. Toph's hands travelled up to his hair, pulling him closer, his tongue slid past her lips, and mingled with hers. She moaned softly at his taste, her head tilted to the side, her tongue sliding around his. He pulled away for air, before attacking her lips with his again. Their kissing became frenzied and urgent, almost as though they feared that if they stopped, their perfect world would end.

Zuko finally broke the kisses, pulling Toph against him. He hissed softly as she was pressed against his wounded abdomen, but he wouldn't let her go as she tried to move away. He sighed softly. "I love you Toph." he said.

There was no answer other than a soft strangled sound as she was pulled out of his arms. Zuko sat up and looked through the darkness, Mai stood with Toph in front of her, a knife pressed to the side of her throat.

"I should have known..." Mai said softly, pressing the knife harder against Toph's throat, Zuko looked at the tip of the knife which had bent from Toph's metalbending.

He looked back at Mai's face, a dangerous look on his own.

"Let her go." he hissed.

"I don't think I will." Mai said. "I want to know something Zuko, when you broke up with me, was it for this thing?"

"No, I broke up with you because I had to leave, and because you are just so damn boring." he said.

Mai's eyes flashed in anger. "When did you hook up?" she asked.

"A while ago." he answered.

"And did you ever think of how I might feel, that I just might still have feelings for you?" Mai demanded.

"Yeah, but frankly, I don't care." Zuko said.

Mai slid the edge of the blade over Toph's throat, looking surprised when it did nothing. Toph reached up and took the blade in her hand, bending it out of shape as if it were made of wet clay.

She turned, pushing Mai away from her. A lamp exploded beside her, and Mai's eyes flashed with fear as she looked at the floating glass.

"What is this?" she demanded.

"Earthbending." Toph answered softly sending the glass at Mai. Zuko turned away not wanting to watch that. There was a moment of deathly silence, and he turned back. Mai was laying on the floor, her hands raised in defence as the glass shards hovered over her before falling to the ground.

"Get out." Toph said softly. Mai stood and quickly left, tears streamed down her face. She never wanted to see Zuko again.

Toph turned toward Zuko. "I couldn't do it." she said. "Im not a killer."

She moved back towards him, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Im sorry." she said gently.

"Don't worry about it, it's my fault." Zuko said, wrapping his arms around her.

Toph leaned into his embrace, and sighed softly. "The doctors will be here shortly." she said getting right onto the bed, and leaning against the headboard.

A minute later there was a knock on the door. "Enter." Toph said and the doctors stepped inside.

"Ah yes, princess Toph, how is our prince?" someone asked. Zuko had lain his head on her lap and closed his eyes.

"Im not princess yet." Toph commented. "But he is doing much better."

Zuko opened his eyes as she tapped his shoulder. Sitting up he looked at the doctor closest to him, he seemed familliar.

They took the bandages off of Zuko's waist, and looked over the wound. It was healing well, and it seemed that he would be okay in a couple of days.

"When is my coronation?" Zuko asked.

"This afternoon I believe." the doctor answered wrapping new bandages around Zuko before he left.

"Good day Princess Toph, Prince Zuko." he said bowing as he left.

"Why does he call you Princess Toph?" Zuko asked.

Toph smiled. "well while he was working on you, I sat next to you holding your hand, and crying my eyes out. He said that I might feel better if I talked to someone, so I talked to him. I told him about some of our problems, and that if you died, I would beg him to send me with you, and that you said you'd marry me. So now that I've said that, he calls me princess." She answered.

"That makes sence." he said with a soft laugh.

He laid on Toph again for a while before someone else knocked. Toph once again gave them permission to enter the room, and Zuko sat up, seeing four servants, two guys and two girls.

The two guys took Zuko to one room, and the girls took Toph to another.

The guys got Zuko ready for his coronation, and the girls got Toph ready to look respectable standing by his side.

Zuko was dressed and ready in a few minutes while Toph took nearly an hour.

When she entered the room Zuko had trouble keeping his jaw off of the floor.

She had on a long flowing silver and red dress. With a golden tiara type headband. Her hair was down for once, and flowed over her back in soft waves, and her bangs were styled back by clips, and other things. As she walked Zuko could see that she was barefoot under the floor-length dress. She wore a little makeup, just enough to make her look a little older, she had a shawl around her shoulders that trailed down her back, and onto the floor. She had gold and silver bracelets, and the necklace that Zuko had given her was plainly visible above the lowcut front of the dress. Out of her baggy clothes,

Zuko could see her womanly curves, and wide feminine hips.

He stood, drawing her into his arms.

"You look absolutely stunning." he whispered.

"Thank you, and by the way, I love you too." Toph said.

There was a soft swooning sound from one of the girls, and a small giggle from the other.

Toph turned, and pointed at the door, and the girls left quietly.

Zuko smiled softly, and leaned down to kiss her. She accepted the kiss happily, leaning into him.

"How do we look standing next to one another?" she asked as he pulled away.

"like the happiest couple anyone's ever seen." he answered, linking his arm with hers, and walking out of the room. She held her head high, a small smile on her face as they walked towards the front doors of the palace.

"Wow, Toph, you look beautiful." Aang said standing from his spot next to the door.

"Thanks twinkletoes." she said with a laugh. The doors were opened and Zuko led Toph out. They were followed closely by Aang.

There were cheers as Zuko went through his big speech about peace and junk. Toph stood happily next to him, listening to the crowd cheer as he was crowned firelord. Zuko held up his hand, and everything went silent.

He turned towards Toph, taking her hands in his. He dropped to one knee, and there were a few gasps. Taking a box out of his pocket, he opened it.

"Toph..." he asked.

"Yes?"

"Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" he asked.

Toph could feel tears in her eyes, and bit her lip softly.

"Firelord Zuko, nothing would make me happier than to stand by your side." she said, and the crowd cheered again as Zuko slipped a ring onto her finger, and stood, pulling her into his embrace.

Sokka started a chant because that's the kind of guy he is and soon everyone was chanting

"Firelord Zuko, and Lady Toph!" all at once.

Toph found the crowd defening, and discreetly covered one of her ears.

Zuko held up his hand again. "Thank you!" he called before leading Toph inside.

Getting away from the crowd was a relief, and Zuko led Toph out the back way, heading towards the prison.

They entered the prison, and passed the guards to get to Zuko's father's prison cell.

"Well, the firelord himself coming down from high to mingle with the commoners." he hissed looking through his hair at Zuko.

Zuko glared at him. "I don't care for your sarcasm." he growled. "Where is my mother?"

Toph listened quietly at the door, leaning against the door jamb.

She heard Ozai laugh, and felt Zuko's heartbeat speed up.

"Why do you think I'd tell you where she is traitor?" he asked.

Toph moved forwards slightly, and Ozai looked at her.

"You girl, come into the light so I can see the face of the one Zuko chose for his bride." Ozai ordered.

Toph straightened slightly, lifting her head higher, and refusing to move.

Zuko looked back at Toph, and smiled softly. "She won't listen to you." he said to Ozai.

"And why not, I am her father in law." Ozai said sounding outraged.

"You are no father of mine." Toph said softly walking up to stand by Zuko.

"A blind girl?" Ozai asked. "Didn't want her to see your face?"

Toph laughed loudly. "I can see him, and I can see you."

"No you can't, I can see that you're blind." Ozai said standing and taking a step towards the bars.

"One step closer..." Toph threatened. Ozai stopped, a bewildered look on his face. Zuko just smiled, and led Toph out of the room, closing the door behind them with a crash. Zuko led Toph back to the palace, and held the door for her, before leading her to their bedroom.

"No one is to disturb us, don't let anyone so much as even knock on the door." Zuko ordered the guard standing by the door.

The guard shifted, and nodded slightly, raising an eyebrow, and looking at Toph. She felt his movements and smiled. She brushed her fingers over his face in almost a hostile mannor, turning towards him slightly.

"I'll be watching you." she said with a laugh following Zuko into the room. The guard watched her dissapear into the room and the door was closed and locked. He wondered if she could actually see what he did, but he didn't want to test it, he didn't feel like being punished.

Zuko pushed Toph down onto the bed, his lips pressed firmly to hers, and she let out a small moan.

"So when do you want the celebration to be?" he asked her pulling away.

"Celebration?" she asked.

"The wedding." he said softly.

"Next week?" she asked.

"Sounds good to me, and what of our honeymoon, what do you want to do for it?"

"Go back to the summer house, just us two this time." she answered.

"Nothing special? Just that?" he asked only a little surprised.

"Just that. That place is where I have my best memories of you." she said sitting up.

"Okay that's where we'll go, how long do you want to be there?"

"At least a week, or more." she said wrapping her arms around his neck, and resting her forehead against his.

"And do you have any ideas for the wedding?" he asked softly.

"Lots of white, blue and green." she said.

"Okay, anything else?"

"Not right this moment." she answered.

Zuko smiled and pressed his lips to Toph's again, her arms tightened around his neck pulling him closer. He slid his tongue past her lips, tasting her warm cavern. She mingled her tongue with his more readily this time, tilting her head to one side to allow him more access. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him.

He pulled away from her after a few minutes, and pulled the covers back laying down beneath them with Toph pressed against his chest.

"What about my parents Zuko?" she asked.

"What about them?"

"Should we tell them of our plans?"

"Whenever you think it's needed we will." he answered. "Now go to sleep, it's been a long day."

Toph snuggled into him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder, and falling quickly into a light sleep. Zuko lay quietly by her side, his arms still wrapped securely around her. They were both still fully dressed, but it didn't matter, they were going to change tomorrow anyways.

Zuko sighed softly, and closed his eyes, following Toph into sleep.

Zuko woke early the next morning, and got out of bed. He took off his suddenly uncomfortable clothing, and looked back at Toph. She was wearing a soft nightdress so she'd probably got up some time in the night and changed. The dress she'd been wearing the day before was on the floor along with her undershirt and corset. Zuko was surprised that she'd been able to fall asleep for even the short time she'd been wearing the corset, it must have been uncomfortable.

She stirred turning onto her side with a soft sigh, and bringing her knees up towards her chest. Zuko smiled softly, letting his hair down from the obnoxious pony tail it was in, and sitting on the edge of the bed. He rested his arms on his legs, and leaned down, letting the muscles in his back go slack as he leaned his head on his linked arms. He felt the bed move, and looked back at Toph, she was sitting up, and reaching blindly for him. The blankets on his side were still warm so he couldn't have been up long.

"Zuko?" she questioned.

"I'm right here." he said softly leaning back on his elbows.

She felt the change, and reached towards him slowly. Her hand brushed over his chest, and neck, and she smiled. "Good morning Firelord Zuko." she said.

"Same to you Lady Toph." he said.

Toph stood from the bed, swaying slightly with tiredness, and went to open the door. The guard was whispering furiously to the servants.

"The Firelord says that no one is to bother them." he said.

"We must get them ready for today!" one of the girls said.

Toph cleared her throat, "let them in." she said, dissapearing inside. The servants followed her, and that morning's events were about the same as the morning before. Toph was used to this kind of treatment from her old life, so it didn't bother her. She stood with her arms outstretched as the servant girls tied a sash around her middle. This dress was light blue and green with a white sash, again this one was floor length to cover her bare feet. Her headband was silver this time, and looked like fine lace. The sleeves of the dress ended in white lace that nearly touched the floor when she let her arms relax and hang by her sides. She walked to where Zuko was waiting, and again he had a hard time keeping himself composed. Standing, he took her hand and led her to the kitchen, she insisted on 'watching' the cooks prepare the morning meal. She was particularly drawn to the woman that was making her meal, her lilting voice seeming to draw her complete attention as she sang the song that Toph herself sang to Zuko.

"Would you mind if I uh..." Toph trailed off, looking at Zuko.

He raised his hand. "She wants to see you." he said.

"Oh, of course I don't mind sweet." the woman said, leaning down a bit so Toph could reach.

She reached out hesitantly, brushing her hand over the young woman's face, she was dissapointed to see that she didn't reconize her.

"Where did you hear that song?" she asked softly.

"I heard it yesterday while on my rounds. You see I clean too, it was coming from Firelord Zuko's room." the girl answered.

Zuko looked at Toph who seemed a little downcast now.

"That was her singing it." he said, and the cook looked at him.

"You have a very beautiful voice sweet." she said to Toph.

"Just as beautiful as her face." Zuko said. Toph blushed slightly, and turned away from him.

"Don't be embarassed when he says you're beautiful, because you are, on the inside as well as the outside, your aura is pure and clean, but that's how it is with most that communicate with the earth." the cook said.

"What is your name?" Toph asked turning towards the sound of her voice.

"Mayana. And your name is Toph, and from the look of that ring, you are Lady Toph, fiancée of Firelord Zuko correct?" Mayana asked.

"Yes." Toph answered. She turned to Zuko, placing her hand on his arm. "Would you mind, I would like to speak with her for a moment." she said softly.

Zuko smiled. "Sure." he said turning and walking out of the kitchen. He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall to wait.

Toph 'watched' him leave before turning back to Mayana.

"Something on your mind sweet?" she asked.

"How did you know I was an earthbender?" Toph questioned.

"Your hands. They're soft yet strong, and only an earthbender needs strong hands.

Firebender's hands are soft and weak, not much good for anything." Mayana answered.

"You speak against your own people?" Toph asked feeling a little surprised.

"I work for a living, I think I have somewhat of a right to speak against people." Mayana said.

Toph nodded softly knowing what the young woman meant.

"Would you mind going to get Zuko for me?" she asked. "Please."

She heard no answer other than Mayana's retreating footsteps. There was a short wait then she felt both of them coming back.

Zuko wrapped his arm around her as he got close enough.

"Zuko, I would like for Mayana to be my personal keeper." she said.

"Keeper?" Zuko asked.

"Her personal servant." Mayana said. "I would wash her, dress her, show her around, and

be a sort of companion when she's alone."  
Zuko looked at Toph, then at Mayana. The girl was tall, and around twenty, her hair was a dark brown, and her features were plain. He shrugged. "Okay, and what of the other two?" he asked.

Toph wrinkled her nose. "They talk more than they should, and are slow. I don't really like how they talk about you either, they whisper things, and I guess they think I don't hear what they say, but I do." she answered.

Zuko nodded slowly. "Okay, they can be maids then." he said with a smile at Mayana.

Toph wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you." she said.

"You know, I've never heard you say that, to anyone." Zuko said.

"You know that I always make acceptions for you." Toph answered.

Mayana cleared her throat. "Sorry to break the moment, but your dishes are finished." she said. "Would you like me to take them to the table for you?"

"Yes, thank you." Zuko said. "You go ahead, it's just through that door, and you can sit in any chair you want."

Toph nodded and followed his directions, exiting the kitchen and waiting for him at the table. Zuko watched her leave. "Wait." he said to Mayana. "What did you do to get her to like you so much?"

"I told her the truth, and answered her questions, I let her know that she had nothing to hide while she was around me. I'm guessing she's a remarkable earthbender." she said walking after Toph. Zuko stood still for a minute before following. He looked at Toph who had chosen the right hand side of the head of the table, her rightful place. Zuko smiled softly, and sat at the head of the table, his hand closing over hers as she waited for him to begin. Mayana stood against the wall, looking up at the ceiling, waiting for them to finish, but not wanting to eavesdrop.

Zuko began to eat, and Toph did as well again she kept either her thumb or her fingers pressed against or hooked over the sides of her dishes.

"What did you want to do today Toph?" Zuko asked. He knew he had to leave her alone that afternoon because of meetings, but he would spend the morning with her.

"What can we do?" she asked.

"Anything you want until later this afternoon, I have to go to a meeting. I usually wouldn't go, but the Firelord has to be present." he said.

"Well, I've always wanted to learn to dance." Toph said with a small blush.

"Then that's what we'll do, anything else?" he asked.

"Maybe just go for a walk? I just want to spend some time with you, I don't care what we do really." Toph answered.

Zuko smiled softly, pushing his plate away, having eaten as much as he cared for. Toph continued until she had nearly cleared her plate, Zuko watched her, leaning his head on his hand, a small smile on his face, he continued to pick at his food, eating a little more.  
When she finished, she pushed her plate away, and stood. Zuko took her hand leading her into a large room. It was actually a sitting room, but could be used to dance in.  
He took her right hand in his, and placed her left on his shoulder before putting his own on her waist.

"I learned this in Ba Sing Se, let's see if I can remember." he said softly, and Toph let out a small laugh.

He began slowly showing her where to place her feet so they didn't step on eachother.

She seemed to have a tendency to try to lead him, and he stopped her.

"Let me lead, it'll make it easier." he said.

She nodded, and they began again. They didn't need music, mostly because even if there was music, they wouldn't have heard it, they were lost in their own little world. Toph learned quickly and followed his lead willingly, and soon they were spinning around the room gracefully. He told her he was going to let her go, and spin her out and what she was supposed to do, she understood, and nodded.

He let go of her waist, pushing her out. She took three steps backwards, and one forwards as he took four forwards, they met in the middle, and moved about the room again. They stopped, and Zuko stepped back away from her. He swept into a deep bow, and kissed the back of her hand softly.

"I thank you for the dance fair maiden." he said, and Toph laughed softly.

"I thank you for teaching me my Lord." she said with a curtsy.

They both broke out in laughter at that. Zuko stood straight, and led her out of the room, linking his arm with hers. When they came out of the front door, the pole bearers lifted their ride. Zuko waved his hand.

"We'll walk today." he said.

The four men sighed in relief, and put their ride down, it was heavy enough alone without the added weight of two people.

Zuko led Toph out of the gates, and through the city, a few people bowed down, but Zuko

made them stand.

"There is no need to bow to me, I am just a man like you." he said.

A few girls that curtseyed to Toph ended up sitting on rocks. "Don't do that." she said.

The word passed through the city and soon there were whispers of how much humility the new rulers had, and how much happier and nicer Firelord Zuko was than before he had his lady by his side.

There was a little girl that watched Toph as she passed, and Toph stopped.

"What is she selling?" Toph asked.

"Roses." Zuko answered.

Toph let him go, and turned towards the little girl.

"Take my hand please, I cannot see." Toph said reaching out.

Hesitantly the little girl took her hand, and Toph knelt in the dirt.

"I hear you're selling roses." she said.

"Yes." the girl said shyly.

"I will give you this for the biggest most pretty rose you have." Toph said holding out

four gold pieces.

She felt the little girl's heart skip, and smiled. She waited as the girl went to pick one out.

She dropped the gold into her hand, took off the leaves and thorns and broke the stem off of it. She reached up slowly, and brushed the girl's hair from her face, pushing the rose behind her ear.

"A beautiful rose for a beautiful girl." she said softly, brushing her hand over the girl's face. The girl hugged her tightly. "Thank you." she said.

"No, thank you." Toph said as the girl let her go. "Now, I'll be coming by here every day, and I will give you two gold pieces every day for a nice red rose okay?" Toph asked. She could feel the girl's ragged clothing, and she was very thin for her age of six or seven.  
She reached down and picked up a smaller rock. "You see this?" she asked.  
The girl nodded.

Toph closed her hand around it, and used her bending to sculpt the stone into a small rose with a heart in the middle. "It's yours now, and if anyone ever bothers you, you come and tell me right away alright?" Toph asked kissing the girl on the forehead, and standing.

"Can you make another one of these for mamma?" the girl asked.

"Of course, just give me a stone." she said. The girl did as Toph asked, and handed her a stone, she made another sculpture, and gave it to the girl.

"Tell your mamma that Lady Toph loves her roses." she said walking back to Zuko. He had a soft smile on his face, and Toph had just noticed that everything was quiet as though everyone was watching them.

She heard a whisper to her left. "She's an earthbender..." she stopped walking and let go

of Zuko again slowly she pushed all of the houses on either side away to make that part of the road circular.

"I need everyone to move away from the center of the road." she said, and could feel everyone doing as they were told.

She used her bending to push rocks to the surface of the road, then she looked at Zuko, he just crossed his arms and smiled waiting to see what she would do. She made fire from the rocks, and a rose grew from the middle of it, bluming towards all sides, the leaves were broad, but still thin enough to look like leaves. She piled a few stones at the base of the rose, and turned towards Zuko.

"I like it." he commented, and Toph smiled. "You should make a different one in front of the palace."

She nodded slowly, her smile still in place. A few people clapped softly, while others whistled and cheered for her.

"What did I do?" she asked Zuko as she walked away with him.

"You made this place less boring, there are people standing around it admiring your

work." he said.

"I'm an earthbender though, shouldn't they all run in fear?" she asked jokingly.

"Not anymore." he answered.

Toph smiled, as he snaked his arm around her waist, and pulled her into him. They walked down towards the edge of the city, and finally out onto the soft sand. Toph walked in the surf of the water, enjoying the coolness of it on her feet.

"You're going to get your dress wet." Zuko said with a smile.

"It's just a dress." Toph answered smiling as well.

They walked quietly together until the sun was nearly at it's highest.

"Toph, we have to go back, I have to be at that meeting." Zuko said stopping her.

Toph nodded softly, good things always had to end so quickly.

As they walked back through the city, Toph heard the little girl's voice.

"There mamma, there's Lady Toph!" she exclaimed.

Toph stopped. "You go ahead, I'll be fine." she said kissing Zuko on the cheek.

Zuko nodded, and continued walking.

Toph turned towards the little girl and reached out, she felt her little hand in hers and knelt down. She reached up and felt the rose by the little girl's face.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Lexxi." she answered.

"Okay Lexxi, I would like another rose." she said, and Lexxi quickly went to pick one out.

"Is it red?" she asked.

"Yes Lady Toph." Lexxi answered. Toph dropped two gold coins in her little hand, and felt her move. Lexxi threw her arms around Toph again, and she heard her mother gasp.

"Lexxi, that is no way to adress Lady Toph!" she exclaimed.

When Toph felt her coming nearer, she felt three pressure points, she had one leg, and crutches.

Toph smiled softly, and stood straight. Lexxi let her go, and began a curtsy, buy Toph

stopped her.

"You are not to bow or curtsy to me, no one is, I don't need to be worshipped." Toph said.  
Lexxi looked at her mother, who nodded softly. She pulled on Toph's dress and Toph bent down.

"Your rose Lady Toph." Lexi said holding it out.

Toph blindly reached for it. "Thank you, but I must go now, or else Zuzu will get worried." Lexxi laughed at the nickname but someone behind Toph stood slowly. Toph turned to look at them, and they took a step forwards.

"Maybe you shouldn't scoff about him, he has taken you in out of the goodness of his heart." an old woman said, her voice was cracked with age, and Toph could detect a hint of sarcasm to her tone.

"He does have a good heart, and he loves me, he loves all of you in some way or another. Like Lexxi, he loves her because of my fondness for her, and you because of your wisdom beyond his." Toph said. "Everyone has a place somewhere in his life, including you, where else would his food come from but local shops?" she asked.

"Out of the fire nation." the woman said.

Toph shook her head she knew for a fact that the food was local. She walked forwards, and reached out, she felt the crisp outside of a head of lettuce, and the soft potato-like feel of sugarroot. Her eyes lit up, and the woman finally smiled at her exited expression.

"You have sugarroot?" Toph asked.

"Yes, do you like them?"

"I've only ever had one, but they are delicious." she said. "How much are they?"

"For you, one is free." the woman said feeling a little guilty for saying the things she did.

"No, no. I will give you six gold pieces for six roots." she said.

The woman nodded, slight surprise on her face, for one gold piece, Toph could have bought twenty if she wanted.

The woman put one extra in the bag for Toph's kindness, and gave the bag to her.

"There are seven in here." Toph said.

"One free for you." the woman answered.

Toph smiled, "Okay, one free." she said giving the woman the money.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow Lexxi!" she called to the girl. She waved as she walked towards the palace.

Everyone moved out of Toph's way, or called out happy greetings all of which Toph returned. As she entered the gates, a guard rushed to her side.

"You should not walk alone with all those theiving peasants around." he said.

Toph stopped. "State your name."

"Buck."

"Well Buck, you have been demoted, you are now to guard the prison, and if I hear even a whisper from anyone that you physically or verbally abuse the prisoners, you will be demoted again." she said walking away. Buck was surprised that she didn't banish him, but then she wasn't Azula.

Toph entered the palace, and walked into the kitchen. Mayana looked up as she entered.

"Ah, Lady Toph, what have you there?" she asked.

"These are sugarroots, tell the cook I would like if he could make a dish for me and Zuko with them. As for you, I would like you to come with me into the city to get a wedding

dress." Toph said. "Oh, and could you have someone put this in a vase in our room?"  
Mayana nodded, and took the rose and sugarroots from her. Toph walked slowly to the sitting room that Zuko and her had danced in, she stood in the center of the room, spinning slowly in circles.

"Lady Toph?" Mayana asked. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, let's go." Toph said walking gracefully out of the room.

Mayana followed her from shop to shop until they found one that had a few wedding

dresses in stock.

One was black silk, but Toph pushed it away. "No dark colours, white and blue or green if you have it." she said.

There was a white dress that the shop keeper had put a light green sash on.

It was comfortable, and hugged her curves, but it had a high collar that would hide her necklace.

She took it off and handed it to Mayana who told the shopkeeper of the problems.

The next one, the shopkeeper put a blue sash on, and gave to Mayana to take to Toph.

It was like the other, only had a lower neck line, and trailed farther onto the ground.

Mayana said that she looked beautiful, and the dress fit perfectly.

Toph bought the dress, and it was put into an unmarked box for travel.

"Next Wednesday." Toph said to herself. "I will be forever bound to my love."

Mayana smiled softly as she walked back to the palace with Toph. She carried the box, and they hurried back to the palace. Zuko would be getting out of the meeting soon, and it would be bad luck for him to see the dress.

"I can keep this in my quarters if you like." Mayana said.

"Thank you, but I have a place where I can keep it." Toph said taking the box from Mayana. "You may take the rest of the afternoon off, but I would like you to help me get ready for bed, and for tomorrow." she said.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, you only have five days until your wedding." Mayana said with a smile.

Toph smiled as well, and turned towards her room. "Thank you Mayana." she called back as she entered her room.

She hid the box in a place that Zuko would never look, and laid on the bed. She didn't realize that she'd fallen asleep until Zuko woke her a while later.

He sat next to her on the bed, and kissed her softly. "So, why exactly did you demote my palace guard to a prison guard?" he asked with a laugh.

"He offended me by calling my subjects thieving peasents." she answered.

"Well, that's a good reason, but you could have just banished him." he said jokingly.

"I'm not Azula." she answered sitting up. "Anyways, how was your meeting?"

"Boring, all of the generals talked about how hard done by they were because they had to

pull all of their armies out of the earth kingdom and water tribes." Zuko answered with a sigh.

Toph laughed softly and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. They sat comfortably like that until a soft knock sounded on the door.

"What time of day is it?" Toph asked.

"Close to nightfall." Zuko answered.

"That's Mayana, I asked her to help me get ready for bed. I'll be back in a while." she said jumping off of the bed, and letting Mayana in, who led her to her changing room.

Mayana talked to her while she undressed and washed her, running her hands through her long hair as she washed it. She would talk about anything, and answered all of Toph's questions.

She had her stand, and dried her off, helping her put on her underwear, and nightdress before sitting her down and brushing out her hair. She started at the bottom unlike the other girls so it went quicker, and didn't hurt as much.

"Do you want your hair up or down Miss?" Mayana asked.

"Down, and could you leave my bangs where they were?"

"In your pretty face?" Mayana asked.

Toph nodded, and Mayana brushed her bangs back down into her face.

She took a bobbypin, and twisted one side of her hair up so it looked simplistic yet graceful, and trailed down over her shoulder. She had Toph stand again, and tied something around her waist.

"So you're not uncomfortable in something so baggy." Mayana explained.

Toph nodded, and Mayana stepped back.

"There, done, just remember to take the pin out before you fall asleep, or it'll tangle." she said. Toph nodded again, and left the room, leaving Mayana to clean up. Zuko was sitting in the middle of the bed when she entered the room, reading something. He looked up, and did a doubletake at her. She stood with her arms behind her back, and her head tilted down as though she was nervous. Zuko dropped the scroll on the floor, and reached out towards her. "Come here." he said softly.

She closed the distance between them, and stood beside the bed. Zuko moved so he was sitting on the edge of the bed in front of her. His hands caressed her waistline, and she smiled.

"So this Wednesday is the day?" he asked softly.

"That was the plan." she answered.

Zuko pulled her into his embrace, and looked up at her. "Well then that's what will happen." he said.

They heard the door open, and Zuko looked up to see Mayana leaving. She closed the door quietly behind her, and Toph leaned down. She pulled Zuko's face back, and kissed him deeply, her mouth opening to him willingly as he pressed his tongue to her lips. He tightened his embrace, and laid back, pulling her with him. Her hair trailed down over his shoulder and onto the bed.

"Does this remind you of anything?" he asked pulling away from her.

0 "Only fond memories of you." she said. Zuko smiled, and rolled her off of him, he got up, and pulled the Firelord ornament out of his hair, laying it on a small table, and proceeded to undress. He felt Toph behind him, her hands brushing over his back. The bandage had been taken off that morning so that the wound could heal freely, and when she touched it, she pulled away sharply, her expression darkening. Zuko brushed his fingers over her face. "It's a memory not worth having, like this one." Zuko said bringing her hand up to his face.

"And me?" Toph asked.

"I would never forget you." he answered softly. He leaned down, and kissed her tenderly, his hand brushing through her damp hair.

She pulled away from him, and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest.

The pressure on his wound hurt, but he ignored the pain, choosing to pull Toph more firmly against him.

She released him, and went to lay down. He finished getting ready, and laid next to her under the covers. Now it was his turn to sing to her, and he did until she fell asleep.

He watched her sleep until his own exhaustion dragged him into oblivion.

**Chapter three... please review and tell me what you thought of it.**

**XD. thanks**


	4. Chapter 4

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Please... please review. To those that did and said that Toph was acting strangely, don't worry; she'll be back to her normal self soon, trust me. Love just does some random stuff to you. Plus, she almost lost Zuko once, that trauma might have changed her views on life slightly.**

Time skip-Tuesday

When Toph awoke on Tuesday morning, she was alone as she had expected as Zuko had to leave early that morning for another meeting that would last almost all day.  
She sighed softly, and sat up, stretching slightly. There was a note on the pillow next to her, and she smiled, she'd have to have Mayana read it for her.  
She sat against the headboard, and fiddled with the letter, folding and unfolding it over and over.  
Mayana knocked on the door around half an hour later.  
"Enter." Toph said, standing from the bed.  
Mayana moved quickly across the room, and set her things down on the table as she started to make the bed.  
"Mayana?"  
"Yes sweet?"  
"Can you read?" Toph asked.  
"Yes, I learned from my mother."  
"Could you read this for me?" Toph asked holding out the letter.  
Mayana stopped what she was doing, and reached for the letter.  
She smiled softly as she read it over once, and then recited to Toph.  
"'Toph, I have a meeting today as I've already told you, but I will try to hurry it along as best I can so I have time to spend with you. Hopefully this one won't be as boring as the others, but even if I do fall asleep, I'll just dream of you. I know you cannot read, but I thought that Mayana could read this to you, and you could know that I will be missing you with my every fibre. I wish I could bring you along, but it is not permitted at this time. Anyways, I did not want to wake you, you look far too beautiful when you sleep, so I couldn't bear to disturb you. I really wanted to postpone this meeting until after the wedding and honeymoon so you did not have to be without me, but it was not possible.  
Loving you always and missing you already, your fiancée Zuko.'" Mayana read handing the letter back to Toph and continuing to make the bed. Toph placed the letter on the table under a candle to keep.  
Mayana led her into her changing room when she finished with the bed. She helped her put on her dress, and brushed out her hair putting it up gracefully. She put a tiara-like headband in her hair, and turned her around, fixing her bangs in the way she liked them.  
"There you are sweet, oh, almost forgot..." she trailed off, wrapping a gold sash around Toph's waist twice, and tying it in the back.  
"Okay, where to?" she asked.  
"To town." Toph answered, walking out of the room.  
Mayana followed, and they walked down to firerose square, named after Toph's sculpture.  
Lexxi was excited as always to see Toph, and picked out a large rose for her. Toph gave her the gold coins, and smiled as the girl hugged her. Going across the square, she spoke with Tia, the old lady with the sugarroots.  
She bought two and a bracelet from the woman's granddaughter.  
Mayana helped her put the silver bracelet on, and they left with happy farewells. Almost everyone that passed said hello to them, Toph seemed to be much loved in the city.  
They went to a few other places, one which Toph insisted on going to get something for Zuko. She settled on another ring, but this one was a wedding band that had a twin for a woman. Toph had the rings sized and waited for them. She paid, and left. She gave the boxes to Mayana to carry for her while she had the rose, and the sugarroots. They walked slowly back up to the palace, and by that time, it was nearly noon.  
Mayana insisted that Toph eat lunch, and fixed her a small meal. She stood by the wall again to wait, but Toph called her over to the table to sit next to her.  
"The preparations for the wedding are being made; everything is white or light blue and green. Other than your bouquet, it's red and pink roses surrounded by small blue forget-me-nots." Mayana said.  
"And you?"  
"What of me?"  
"I would like you to be my bridesmaid along with Katara. Speaking of her, have you sent her the invitations?" Toph asked.  
"Yes, the hawks were sent yesterday." she said.  
Toph nodded, she didn't want her friends missing the most important day of her life.  
"Thank you Lady Toph." Mayana said softly.  
"No, thank you." Toph said pushing her nearly empty plate away. "Any idea of when Zuko will be back?" she asked.  
"No, sorry." Mayana answered.  
Toph shrugged, and stood. Mayana followed her back to the 'royal chamber' or her and Zuko's room.  
Toph sat on the bed and sighed.  
"Could you read to me?" she asked.  
"What do you want me to read?" Mayana asked.  
"You pick." Toph answered.  
Mayana picked out a book that her own mother used to read to her, and began to read. Both of them got so caught up in the book that they didn't notice how much time had passed until Zuko entered the room. He leaned against the doorjamb, and smiled softly.  
Mayana looked from him to Toph, and stood from the bed, closing the book and putting it back on the shelf.  
"Thank you for keeping her company." Zuko said as she passed.  
Mayana smiled and nodded, continuing down the hall as Zuko closed the door. He walked slowly towards her, and stopped next to the bed.  
"You know Zuko I was thinking, Ozai has long hair right, and it's usually tradition for the firelord to grow out his hair, and beard, but would you mind not doing that?" Toph asked.  
Zuko was slightly surprised at the random question, but he shrugged. "I don't have to, and I'm sure that it would make my father angry to know I wasn't following tradition, so for you, I won't." he answered sitting on the bed.  
"Thank you." Toph said leaning forwards, and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I don't like guys with long hair and beards."  
"Well then, I'll make an extra effort to make you happy." he said.  
Toph stiffened, and Zuko looked at her.  
"What is it?" he asked.  
She jumped quickly off of the bed, and ran out the door, leaving it wide open. Zuko followed her, and realized what was wrong when she got to the bathroom.  
"Oh no..." he said softly. He knelt next to her, and pulled her hair out of the way, rubbing her back softly.  
He couldn't figure out why she was sick, it was impossible for her to be with child, so maybe it was something she ate.  
Zuko didn't watch her throwing up, but he stayed next to her, holding her hair back which she'd taken down earlier, and rubbing her back.  
She seemed to be finished, and Zuko reached for a cloth, and handed it to her. She wiped her face, and threw the cloth away, wrapping her arms around him. She was shuddering and Zuko could feel that her breathing was becoming laboured as though she wanted to cry but couldn't let herself.  
Zuko held her close until she pulled away.  
"Thanks." she said looking at the floor.  
"My pleasure." Zuko answered, standing. He leaned down, and picked Toph up off of the floor, carrying her to their room.  
He laid her on the bed, and kissed her cheek softly. "I will be right back." he said.  
He left the room, closing the door softly behind him.  
He found a maid and got her to clean the bathroom, and then he went to the kitchen.  
He confronted Mayana who was making their dinner.  
"What has Toph eaten today?" he asked.  
"Breakfast and lunch." she answered.  
"What was in that?"  
"You and her had the same breakfast, and for lunch she had fresh bread, sliced baked sugarroot, soft potatoes, and a small salad, all of which I tested myself before giving it to her, as I do with all meals for both of you." she answered still working on the dinner.  
"Then why is she sick?" Zuko asked.  
"What?" Mayana asked shocked. She dropped the knife she was using, and looked up at him.  
"She just started throwing up after I got there." he said.  
"Is she usually an active person?" Mayana asked.  
"Yes."  
"It could be because she's not as active as she once was, and her body is adjusting to the change." Mayana said. "I suggest she continues to be active, maybe do some earthbending."  
Zuko nodded softly. He'd have to remember that.  
"Thank you Mayana." he said hurrying back to the room. The door was open, and Toph was gone, she was in the bathroom, and the maid was standing next to her, holding her hair for her.  
Zuko waved her out the door, and closed it behind her, he knelt next to Toph on the floor, and held back her hair, rubbing her back softly. He could feel her back arch each time she heaved this time, and he felt sorry for her. One day before her wedding, and she was sick, he hoped that she would be better by tomorrow. He talked softly to her, just talking about anything that came to his mind accept the wedding, in case she got the feeling that he was too excited about it.  
He didn't want her to think that she had to be better just for his sake.  
They were there for almost an hour, but mostly it was just dry heaves that nearly had Toph in tears. Zuko sat by her side, comforting her gently, and talking softly.  
He held her hair away from her face, and held her hand in his free one. Her grip became almost painful when she squeezed, and Zuko found himself wincing now and again. She rested her head on her arm, gasping for breath after the heaving finally stopped.  
She reached for another cloth, and cleaned her face, and Zuko handed her a glass of water along with a little bit of their version of mouthwash.

Toph drank the water, and used the mouthwash, rinsing her mouth thoroughly. She wrapped her arms around Zuko, burying her face in his chest.  
"Thanks." she whispered.  
"No problem." he answered, wrapping his arm around her back, and hooking his other arm under her legs, picking her up and carrying her to their room.  
He kicked the door closed as he entered and walked over to the bed, laying her on it gently. He unzipped the back of her dress, sliding it off of her shoulders and down the line of her body then dropping it on the floor.  
He flipped the blankets over her, and stripped down to his boxers before joining her. He pulled her into a gentle embrace, and sighed as her arms wrapped around him.  
Toph fell asleep quickly, and Zuko listened to her soft even breathing until it lulled him into his own dreamland.

They were both woken by a knock on the door the next morning. Toph dragged herself from the warmth and comfort of Zuko's arms to answer the door.  
Mayana stood on the other side, and when she saw Toph she smiled.  
"Oh good, you're feeling better." she said pulling Toph into her changing room.  
Zuko lifted his head, a confused look on his face as Toph disappeared.  
He rolled out of bed and went to his own changing room, to get ready for the day's events.  
Mayana filled Toph's tub with warm water for her to bathe in, and chatted non stop about the wedding.  
Toph stopped her, and sat up straight. "You know it's funny, you've seen me without clothes but..."  
"Zuko hasn't?" Mayana questioned.  
"No he hasn't." Toph answered.  
"Well, the time for that will be coming soon." Mayana said, beginning to wash Toph's hair.  
"What if... What if he doesn't like me that way?" Toph asked.  
"He will, I'm sure of it." Mayana answered.  
"Well, how do I look, you know..." she trailed off.  
"You look very pretty, I'm sure he'll be very attracted to what he sees." Mayana said rinsing Toph's hair.  
Toph nodded softly and stood, another bucket of water was dumped over her to get all of the soap off, and Mayana wrapped a towel around her, drying her quickly.  
She sat in the chair while Mayana slowly brushed out her hair. She thought for a moment, biting her lip softly. "Well, hypothetically speaking, what if he doesn't like me that way?" she asked.  
"You guys can compromise for your differences. You love each other so much, I'm sure that you will look beautiful to him no matter what sweet." Mayana said.  
Toph smiled softly, she knew that Zuko loved her, and would no matter what.  
Mayana helped her put on her underwear, and dress. She fiddled with the dress fixing every little off detail before tying the sash around her waist, and fixing her dress again.  
She twisted half of Toph's hair up into a tight knot, holding it with a red firenation hairpiece. She left out her normal headband, and replaced it with a silver tiara before she curled the rest of her hair, and let it cascade gracefully down her back.  
She put a little makeup around her eyes; just enough to bring them out, and had her stand again. She handed her bouquet, and stepped back.  
"Perfect, you look absolutely stunning." she said, and Toph blushed softly.  
Mayana took a few minutes to put on her own dress, fix her hair, and do her makeup. Then they were off, Mayana grabbed her bouquet off of the table as they left, and closed the door behind them.  
"Stop playing with the flowers, you look beautiful." Mayana said. "I have to go now, I have to be at the alter, but your cue is in a couple of minutes, some guy named Sokka is supposed to walk you down the aisle." she continued disappearing through the doors.  
Sokka entered the room, and froze. "Wow, who are you and what have you done with the Toph I know?" he asked jokingly. Toph punched him in the arm hard. "Shut up! I'm nervous enough as it is!" she hissed.  
Sokka rubbed his arm. "Okay, sorry, you look great." he said linking his arm with hers.  
"Okay, follow my steps, walk in slow motion, and try not to trip." Sokka said.  
Toph elbowed him and he winced. Then the music started. Sokka opened both of the doors, and began walking down the aisle with Toph. "Stay calm Toph, you'll do great." Sokka said just before they got to the alter.  
Sokka held Toph's left hand in his, and placed Zuko's on it in a way of giving away the bride before he stood next to Aang who was best man.  
The priest cleared his throat and other than a few sniffles everything was quiet.  
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony..." he began.  
The ceremony was long and boring, but Toph managed to stay awake through it, and he finally had them turn and face eachother.  
"Now gaze deeply into the eyes of your other half, and feel the binding strengthen." the priest said. Toph rolled her eyes slightly, and someone laughed.  
The priest held up his hand, and again all was silent.  
"If anyone has any objections to this bond, speak now or forever hold your peace."  
There was dead silence other than a few sniffles.  
"Now, Firelord Zuko, do you take Toph Bei Fong to have and to hold through sickness and in health to love, honour and cherish till death do you part?"  
"I do." Zuko said.  
"Do you have any of your own vows you would like to say at this time?" the priest asked.  
Zuko shook his head, and the priest turned to Toph.  
"Toph Bei Fong, do you take Firelord Zuko to have and to hold in sickness and in health, to love, honour and cherish till death do you part?" the priest asked.  
"I do." she answered.  
"Do you have any of your own vows you would like to say at this time?" he asked.  
Toph shook her head, and the priest closed his book.  
"By the power vested in me, in the witness of all that is good I now pronounce you husband and wife... You may kiss the bride." he said, a wide smile on his old leather like face.  
Zuko lifted the veil from Toph's face, and kissed her gently, pulling away quickly, and pressing his lips more firmly to hers in a branding kiss, a kiss that said she was his for all eternity.  
The crowd burst into applause, and tears from the sound of some of the women. Zuko wrapped his arm around Toph's waist, leading her back down the aisle. Rice hailed down on them, and Toph stopped at the end of the aisle, and threw her bouquet over her head.  
It was caught by both Suki and Katara who both blushed softly. Zuko waved to everyone, and vaulted Toph onto a rhino before following quickly. They rode down to the docks, and got onto a ship, waving as they sailed away.  
The trip across the sea was a little under an hour, and they took a few supplies, and a couple of changes of clothes from the ship. And walked up to the house as the ship sailed away. Zuko lifted Toph into his arms, and carried her over the threshold. He dropped their things at the bottom of the stairs and carried her up them, going straight to the last bedroom in the hallway. He leaned down slightly so that Toph could find the doorknob, and push the door open.  
Zuko kicked it closed once they were inside; he sat on the edge of the bed, and set Toph on her feet.  
"Are you ready for our honeymoon? No one here, no one to bother us, just like you wanted." he said pulling her into his arms.  
Toph leaned down, and kissed him deeply before stepping back. He was going to stand and follow her but she stopped him.  
He sat on the bed again, wondering what exactly she was doing. She reached up, and pulled the hairpiece and tiara from her hair, letting it fall down her back. She shook her head softly so her bangs flopped back into her face, and reached around behind herself. She found the string that Mayana had tied to the zipper and pulled it, unzipping the back of her dress. She let it slide from her shoulders, and fall to the floor, Zuko watched silently, removing his own shirt, and shoes.  
He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, she was only twelve for god's sake, but it seemed that she wanted this as much as he did.  
He could see her chest rise and fall rapidly with her breathing, and moved forwards, pulling her into his embrace. Her breasts flattened against him, and her arms wrapped around him as well. He backed up, pulling her with him; he eased her down onto the bed, and leaned down over her, kissing her deeply, his tongue sweeping in and out of her mouth. She moaned softly, and his hands slid around behind her back, finding the end of her chest wrappings and pulling it to unravel them. Once she was bared, she crossed her arms over her chest, the lightest blush on her face. Zuko kissed her softly, waiting for her to be comfortable enough to show him what her arms hid. It took a very short time for her to wrap her arms around him, and pull him closer. He kissed her for another moment, and pulled away, her arms fell to the bed, resting on either side of her head. She could feel his eyes on her and her doubts from before came flooding back.  
She heard him say something softly, but didn't quite catch it.  
"What?" she whispered.  
"You are so beautiful." he repeated kissing her again. His mouth moved down the side of her neck, suckling softly just under her ear. She moaned softly as she felt his hand move slowly up her body to cup her breast in his hand.  
She arched her back into his touch, a soft moan escaping from her lips as his hands softly kneaded her soft flesh.  
He kissed her again, sliding his tongue into her mouth, and dancing with hers. He pulled away again looking down into her face which had a soft sprinkling of pink over her cheeks.  
He sat up, and pulled off his pants, and boxers. Toph followed him into a sitting position, her hand trailing down his chest and stomach, and over his thigh. He caught her wrist, and she looked up at him, her blinded eyes looking through him with a confused expression.  
He brought her hand back to his stomach, and pressed it against his skin. "Straight forwards." he whispered softly.  
She turned her hand, and brought it slowly forwards, her fingers brushed over something, and she heard Zuko moan. She wrapped her hand around him, and his breath hitched in his throat. Her hand moved up his shaft, and he hissed softly.  
"Zuko?" she asked, reaching up with her free hand, and brushing it over his face.  
"I'm fine." he said. "Continue..."  
She blinked, and continued moving her hand up and down his hard shaft. He arched his back slightly, and gasped softly, his head tilted back, and his eyes closed.  
Toph could feel something inside her stomach changing, tightening at the sounds that he made. She let go of him, and threw her arms around him, pressing her lips to his firmly. He slowly lowered her onto her back, bending her knees up so he could rest between her legs.  
His hands slid down her body slowly, hooking in the waistband of her underwear, and pulling them down and off.  
She lifted her hips into his, grinding against him instinctively. The head of his cock brushed over that small bundle of nerves which sent an electric shock of pleasure through her body. She stiffened and moaned softly.  
"Toph..." Zuko groaned through his teeth.  
"Do it, I want you, all of you." Toph said between gasps.  
He pushed slowly into her, stretching her.  
She threw her head back as far as it would go, arching into him.  
"Ah, Zuko!" she cried, digging her nails into his shoulders.  
He stilled for a minute, kissing her softly, his tongue delving into her mouth.  
She kissed him hungrily, loving the feeling of him inside her. She could feel her inner walls relaxing to allow the intrusion, and soon the pain had faded and all she could feel was his heartbeat inside of her.  
She pushed her hips against his, and talking the hint he pulled slowly out of her, and pushed slowly back in. His tempo was slow, and steady, his mouth moving down over her neck, and breasts. She met each of his thrusts instinctively, wrapping her legs around his waist. His speed increased, and she moaned softly, the friction the new tempo made was driving her mad.  
Her hands smoothed over his back, feeling the way his muscles moved under his soft skin. She felt something breaking between them mentally, the final wall was being torn down, they were finally one, their bodies may have been two separate entities, but their minds were one.  
The pleasure they felt was only intensified by the love they felt for eachother, the bond that would hold them together forever.

_((Okay, sorry to interrupt, just thought I'd put this little tidbit of info in to clarify what I'm trying to say. When you have sex, your brain releases this chemical called dopamine, the first time you have sex if it's good, the dopamine intensifies the feeling of pleasure, if it's bad, the dopamine makes it worse. Obviously they are having good sex, so the dopamine from both of them makes them all giddy and junk... So the sex is the best they will ever have.  
Fact- the more you have sex, the less your brain releases dopamine, and the less mentally pleasurable the sex becomes, until finally, all the sex is, is physical pleasure, or fucking.  
Right now they are making love, connecting with eachother on levels that others may not understand, since Toph is a virgin, and I don't know and really don't care if Zuko had sex with Mai. Even if he did, he held no real value to the connection, so it was broken before it was even established, and so, because he loves Toph so dearly, he is able to connect with her and not others as you have seen.  
The dopamine will connect you in special ways to your first, or second lover, that's why you should wait until you know exactly what you're getting yourself into before you give away part of yourself to someone who may not deserve it, you should almost always wait until you know for a fact that you love someone and are completely comfortable with them before you decide to have sex with them. Some people believe differently but, meh, each to their own. There, a little bit of science facts for you, I even managed to make it mostly interesting. Don't hate me for making you learn something, just thought you should know.))  
_

Toph tightened her legs around Zuko's waist as she felt a strange feeling in her lower abdomen. She pulled her lips away from his, and buried her face in his shoulder, biting down softly. Her bite became painful a few moments later, as her arms tightened around him, and her fingers dug into his shoulder blades.  
She threw her head back, another cry tearing from her as she came. Her back arched as high as Zuko's body would allow, and her inner walls tightened around Zuko.  
He let out a breathy moan, forcing back his climax until she released her grip on him. She eased back onto the bed, her arms sliding from his shoulders to his arms.  
He pulled out of her and came; it took nearly all of his self control not to stay inside of her.  
Once he'd finished, he reached around, and detangled himself from her legs. Rolling off of her, and laying on his back, staring at the canopy of the covered bed. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself into him, and resting her head on his shoulder.  
He placed his arm around her shoulder, rubbing it gently.  
"Wow, if I'd known what sex was, I may have done it sooner." Toph commented with a laugh.  
Zuko smiled as well. "With me I hope."  
"Of course." she said, her smile disappearing.  
"I love you Zuko." she said after a pause.  
"I love you too." he answered. They lay quietly for a few minutes until Zuko sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.  
Toph leaned up on her elbow, "What's up?" she asked.  
"I think we should move to another room, after we go for a little swim." he said pulling on his pants.  
Toph shrugged, and followed him off of the bed. He took a long Kimono off of a hook next to the bed, and put it on her. Her lower stomach ached a little but she ignored it, and followed him out of the room.  
"I'll be right behind you." she said, going into the bathroom.  
Zuko shrugged, and continued to the beach.  
Toph stretched slightly, moving her hands over her skin softly, she untied the kimono, and let it fall open, running her fingers over the bumps and welts that Zuko had left on her body.  
She reached out, and placed her hand on the cool glass of the mirror, how she wished she could see, if only for a few minutes.  
She shook her head, and pulled her hand from the mirror, tying the kimono again.  
She reached up, and finger combed the tangles from her hair, trying to smooth the frizz she felt, but it was of no use, and she gave up.  
She pressed her hands against her lower stomach where the ache was growing slightly worse. She closed her eyes and smiled softly, she had never dreamed that she could grow quite this close to Zuko.  
She opened her eyes, and turned quickly, exiting the room, and heading down to the beach.  
She stopped, and listened to the swish of the tide, and for Zuko.  
She heard and felt nothing, and frowned, her stance became defensive, as she waited.  
She felt footsteps to her right and turned quickly, locking the sand around the person's feet to stop them from moving. Her pale eyes stared through the person, but she could see who it was, a smile crossed her face, and she allowed the sand to fall back to the ground. She turned towards the sound of the water, and tilted her head back slightly as she stepped forwards into it.  
Zuko was slightly confused, but he just crossed his arms and tilted his head watching silently.  
Toph's hands smoothly undid the knot on the front of the kimono. She let the soft fabric slide from her shoulders, and flutter to the ground as she walked forwards into the water. She walked out until the water was at her waist, and stopped, her hands playing over the surface. She heard Zuko's soft footsteps as he followed, walking up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed the side of her neck.  
She turned in his arms, pressing herself to him.  
"Why did you want to come out here if all we're going to do is stand here?" she asked with a laugh.  
"I thought you liked the water." Zuko answered.  
She smiled softly, and let him go as he moved away. He moved behind her again.  
"Lay back." he said.  
She lifted a sceptical eyebrow, but did as he said, laying back into the water.  
He pulled her out into deeper water, and pushed her under. She struggled slightly, but could feel that he was under with her, his chest pressed against her back. She relaxed, and could feel them sinking until her knees touched the sea floor. She wondered what he was up to, but soon her lungs couldn't take the pressure, and all she could think about was air, he covered her mouth so she couldn't inhale the water, and suddenly it got hot, really hot. They broke the surface, gasping for air, and Toph turned to him.  
"What the hell?" she exclaimed.  
"I wasn't trying to drown you, it just took me a bit to get the fire going down there." he answered.  
"Underwater firebending?" she asked.  
She heard him laugh gently.  
"Underwater firebending." he said. "You're not the only one that can make your own bending."  
She smiled in spite of herself.  
"I thought you were trying to kill us, why'd you drag me down as well?"  
"It only works if you're inside the expanding walls, if not, you'd be boiled alive." he answered.  
"You're sick, you could have warned me"  
"Says the one that threatened both Katara and my old girlfriend with exploded lamps." he said.  
She punched him in the arm, and he rubbed the spot. "okay, ow."  
"You deserve it." she said walking past him and out of the water. She pulled the kimono on, and tied it tightly. She began to walk up to the house as she felt Zuko pulling on his pants.  
She felt running footsteps, and was too late to turn and fend him off as he wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her off of the ground. He swung her up into him, her legs automatically wrapped around his waist, and she laughed softly. He carried her past the house and through the trees.  
As they walked farther into the trees, she could feel the heat and humidity growing steadily higher.  
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.  
"You'll see." he said, stopping a minute or so after that comment.  
"Remember this?" he asked setting her down. She reached down and felt the hot water.  
"Yeah, the hot springs." she said smiling again.  
He took off his pants again and slipped into the water, sitting on the soft slabs of rock at the bottom.  
He watched Toph slide the kimono from her shoulders again, and licked his lips, the soft sunlight glinted off of her still wet skin, making it look like she was surrounded by a halo of light.  
She stepped down into the water, and sat next to him with a soft sigh.  
He slid his arm around her shoulders, and she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest.  
They sat like that until the sun set, and the moon rose. Toph fell into a light sleep after a while, and Zuko felt his own exhaustion pulling at his mind.  
He knew it was not a good idea to fall asleep in the hot water though, in case of hyperthermia. _((Hyperthermia- opposite of hypothermia... It's Heatstroke.))  
_He woke Toph gently, her eyes opened, and she stretched.  
"What?" she asked.  
"We should go inside now, its night time." he said.  
She nodded slightly, and he stood, pulling her to her feet, and out of the water. She moved sluggishly and clumsily as though the heat had affected her. He pulled on his pants and helped her with the Kimono.  
Her legs were tingling, and it intensified with each step, and she finally did the unthinkable, she asked him to carry her. Which he did.  
He carried her into the house, and into the room that she once called hers. By the time they got there she was asleep again. He laid her on the bed, and took the kimono off of her, replacing it with a nightdress that he grabbed from her bag. He pushed a pair of underwear up her legs, and pulled the dress back down, covering her with a light blanket. He smiled thinking about what she would say to the fact that she was sleeping in Azula's old room.  
He dried his hair, and got into the bed, lying on his back, and staring at the ceiling for a while until his exhaustion pulled him into a deep sleep.

Toph woke slowly, she felt warm and comfortable, but she didn't feel Zuko near her. She reached out, and smoothed her hand over the cold sheets next to her. She sighed, and sat up, a sharp jolt of pain shot through her stomach, and she lay back onto the bed, wrapping her arms around herself. A small gasp escaped her, and she lay, curled in on herself until the pain faded.  
She sighed softly, and sat up again, slower this time, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and finally standing. She stretched slightly, and walked towards the door. She turned to the left, and walked slowly down the stairs, and into the kitchen.  
Zuko was standing, and looking down into a pot, not that she could see him, but she could sense that he wasn't facing her.  
He took the pot, and threw it into the sink with whatever it was that he had been cooking in it.  
He took another pot out of the cupboard, and put it on the stove, filling it halfway with water. He moved down the counter, and picked up a knife, cutting vegetables, and throwing them into the pot. The water boiled quickly, and he put noodles into it, watching them cook this time. He took the pot off of the heat, when it looked like the noodles were cooked. He opened a cupboard above the sink, and took out two bowls. He forgot to close the cupboard, and as he reached across the sink for something, he smacked his head on it. He cursed softly, rubbing his forehead, and slamming the door closed.  
"A few tips..." Toph said.  
Zuko turned quickly to face her. "And what are those?" he asked.  
"A watched pot never boils, close the cupboard as soon as you take the stuff out, and the spoon is used for stirring." she said laughing softly.  
"Ha ha." Zuko said in mock laughter.  
"Oh come on, for a firelord who can't even make tea properly, you did pretty well... Only tell me that this food won't kill me if I eat it." Toph said sitting in a chair at the counter.  
Zuko laughed dryly again, and pushed a bowl across the counter to her. "I don't think it will." he said softly.  
"Good, I would much prefer to spend the rest of my life with you." she said pulling the bowl towards herself. She ate slowly, as she was still half asleep, but the food was surprisingly good.  
She pushed the bowl away as she finished, and Zuko took it, and washed it.  
"How are you feeling today?" he asked gently, placing his hand over hers.  
She knew what he meant, and shrugged. "I'm fine, a little stiff, but fine." she said, it wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. She smiled, and squeezed his hand softly, her blank eyes staring just past his shoulder.  
He returned the soft gesture of reassurance, and pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her.  
"What did you want to do today?" he asked.  
"What time of day is it?" she asked.  
"After the time the sun is highest." he answered softly.  
"Well, I have something we can do." she said, pulling the buttons on his shirt open, and smoothing her hands over his bared chest.  
He smiled softly, and leaned down to kiss her gently.

Time Skip- one week later

Toph stood close to Zuko with her arm around his waist as they waited for the ship. The ramp was lowered, and they walked onto it, Mayana was there, and she pulled Toph away from Zuko.  
Toph resisted, turning back to kiss him before following her. Mayana led her to a cabin, and sat her down on the bed.  
"Now tell me everything." she said in an excited tone.  
"What?"  
"Tell me everything, all of the details." Mayana repeated.  
"Uhh, why?"  
"Because, I've been dying to know! Is he good? Can he kiss really well? How lo-"  
Toph knew what was next, and stopped Mayana before she could say it. "I don't know what you mean by good, but he is a really good kisser, and he knows how to use his tongue in a kiss to... Well I can't really explain it. And as for that last question, that is absolutely none of your business." Toph said, raising an eyebrow.  
"By good I mean, how is he in bed... You know during sex?" she asked.  
Toph blushed, and turned away.  
"I don't know what the definition of good would be, that was the first time I've ever done it." she answered.  
"How did he make you feel?"  
"Like I could fly. My senses were nearly exploding with the feeling of... pleasure." she said pausing before the last word.  
"Yep, he sounds pretty good to me." Mayana said with a soft laugh.  
Toph blushed again, and heard footsteps just before the door opened, her blush darkened as she heard Zuko's voice.  
"I hope you're not hassling my wife too much, she looks a little flustered... Or is that embarrassment?" he asked leaning down slightly to see Toph's face.  
"Nope, we were just having a little girl's talk." Mayana said with a smile.  
"Ah." Zuko said, backing out of the room. "I'll leave you to it then." he said closing the door.  
Mayana laughed again, and turned back to Toph. "Is he at least gentle with you?" she asked.  
"Yeah, he is, he always is." Toph answered.  
"Good." Mayana said. "Now, personal question, did he uhh... come inside of you?"  
"What?" Toph exclaimed.  
"It's that Uhh... Wow, this is awkward. Uhh, the slimy (?) stuff that comes out when he's done..." she said in a rush.  
"No, he didn't, not that I remember." Toph answered.  
"Not that you remember?"  
"Yeah, there's blank spots, places where I can't remember what took place." Toph answered.  
"Huh, he must be really good then." Mayana answered with a soft laugh that broke the tension in the room.  
She asked more question including the one that she'd tried to ask before.  
Toph paused.  
"If you can't tell since he's the only one, I can tell you, just answer this; does your lower stomach ache after?" Mayana asked.  
"For a long time after, and once in a while if I stand too fast, there's a shooting pain throughout my stomach." Toph answered.  
Mayana whistled softly. "You really hit the jackpot girl." she said with a laugh.  
"What do you mean?"  
"From the sound of it, he's pretty big, and he's good in bed, and he treats you like a goddess, you found the perfect guy." Mayana answered. "Not to mention he loves you more than anything."  
Toph blushed softly again, and turned away. A soft knock sounded on the door and Toph lifted her head as it opened.  
"Can I steal my wife from your iron grip for a few minutes, Mayana?" Zuko asked with a laugh.  
Mayana laughed, and got up, brushing past him in the doorway, she turned her back to him as she squeezed past him through the door so he didn't think she was making a pass at him, and walked down the hall.  
He closed the door softly, and walked over to the bed, sitting next to Toph.  
"You do know that you don't have to answer her questions." he said.  
"I don't mind, she wouldn't tell anyone what I say, she never did before, she's like a living diary, I can tell her anything." she said.  
"How do you know about diaries?" he asked.  
"Katara has one, I stole it from her, and had Sokka read it to me once." she answered with a laugh. "But no one can read Mayana; all of my secrets are safe from everyone, including you."  
"And if I order her to tell me?"  
"She won't, she's my keeper, and she only really listens to my orders." she answered.  
Zuko nodded softly. "Did you mean what you said about the pain?" he asked.  
"Yeah." she answered slowly.  
"So you lied to me." he said. "You told me you were feeling fine, just a little stiff."  
"I just didn't want you to worry." she said.  
"I'm not mad, but I would like if you would tell me how you were actually feeling." he said.  
She nodded, and wrapped her arms around him. "Well then, I'm feeling really comfortable." she said. He laughed softly, wrapping his own arms around her; they sat quietly enjoying the moment while it lasted, completely comfortable in each other's presence. Toph heard Mayana coming back, and tried to move out of Zuko's embrace, but he stopped her, pulling her tightly to his chest. There was a knock on the door, and it opened slowly to reveal Mayana's tall frame, silhouetted in the sun. She looked slightly embarrassed, and ashamed, but moved forwards when Toph motioned her into the room; closing the door behind herself she stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.  
"Just cause he's here doesn't mean we can't continue talking, you may even get straighter answers because of his presence." Toph said, patting the bed next to her and Zuko.  
He had turned her so her back was against him, and it reminded her of something that kept slipping her mind, something from before he confessed to her. He could be just as light on his feet as twinkle toes, and could probably have done something, she just couldn't recall...  
Mayana sat on the edge of the bed, her hands folded in her lap in a lady-like manner.  
Zuko raised his good eyebrow, an unbelieving smile on his face.  
"You should act normal, or I might think you two have been up to something..." he said with a soft laugh.  
Toph laughed as well, and Mayana visibly relaxed, folding one leg underneath herself, and letting the other hang over the side of the bed.  
She and Toph talked while Zuko listened, playing with Toph's hair, looking up every-now-and-again at an embarrassing or ill phrased question from Mayana.  
He surprisingly didn't feel his anger rise as Mayana pressed Toph for answers she didn't want to give, Toph seemed to calm him completely, both physically and mentally, and maybe that was why he'd always been drawn to her presence, even before he knew of his feelings for her...  
Every time he'd left his uncle, or struck out on his own, he had seen Toph somewhere, he was madly drawn to her, like a starving, dehydrated person is to food and water.  
He had always watched her from afar, not realizing until later that she was with the Avatar, and thus his enemy. He knew she was an earthbender, and that she could easily take even him down, but he always seemed to end up where she was or had been, as if her spirit was his guide.  
He had watched her sleep one night after he joined Aang, wondering what it was about this unremarkable girl that could attract him so strongly. He'd watched her the next night as well, and the one after that, soon making a habit out of it. He was always in a bad mood from lack of sleep, and annoyance, but he had never once lashed out at her badly, his anger was always directed at someone or something else.  
He'd noticed a strong physical attraction to her some time later just after they got to Ember Island, but never acted on it until after Aang had disappeared.  
They had been tied together once, and the idiots who had decided to tie him and Toph together tied them back to back with Zuko's arms wrapped around her, and tied so he couldn't use firebending to get out, or so they thought.  
He remembered what she had done to make a little room for his hands. She used her earthbending to push herself up and halfway over his shoulder, leaving a three or four inch gap between her and his hands. He had ever so carefully used his bending to get him out of the cuffs. Her hands were behind her back, tied with rope, and locked together with ice so she couldn't break free. He had melted the ropes that bound her to him, and stood.  
"Don't you dare leave me here." she hissed as if she was afraid that he actually would.  
He had carefully melted the ice, and the ropes, and she metalbent her way out of the chains that crisscrossed her body. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet so they would be ready to fight, and she wrenched her hand out of his, glaring in his general direction for even thinking of touching her.  
He smiled at that thought, look at them now...  
He tilted his head down, and rested his forehead on her shoulder, and he heard Mayana stop talking.  
"He's not doing anything, continue." Toph said.  
Mayana frowned and looked thoughtful. "What do your parents think of this?" she asked.  
"Well, I haven't told them, they would probably try to take me and not to mention some money away from him." she said leaning back into Zuko's embrace.  
Zuko laughed. "They can try." he said softly, his head still tilted down.  
Mayana's nervous laughter joined his along with Toph's soft chuckle.  
"So how old are you two actually? No one seems to know." she asked.  
Zuko finally lifted his head and whispered softly in Toph's ear. She shook her head, and whispered back.  
Mayana couldn't hear what they were saying, and decided not to try to eavesdrop.  
"Toph, you are actually too young to be with me, I'm sixteen, and you're twelve." he said.  
"I'm actually thirteen. And that's only two years and some months difference." she whispered back. "Anyways you said that yourself. It doesn't matter, we are both young, it won't matter."  
He looked at her. "You're thirteen?" he asked. Toph laughed softly turning back to Mayana.  
"Why don't you guess?" she asked.  
"Well, it's kind of a big difference between your heights, but I suppose a lot of people are different like that." she began. "But I'd say that you are seventeen, eighteen, and you are fifteen?" she asked first Zuko then Toph.  
Zuko shook his head. "I'm sixteen." he said.  
"And I'm almost fourteen." Toph answered, clasping Zuko's hand in hers.  
"Sixteen and thirteen?" Mayana asked. "Huh, I never would have guessed." she shrugged, and there was a soft tremor as the ship beached.  
"Oh, we're back!" she exclaimed standing, and smoothing out her dress. Toph followed slowly, and Zuko was last to stand.  
"Lexxi has really missed you. Every day she asks 'where is Lady Toph?' she really likes you." Mayana commented as they exited the cabin. Toph could hear and feel that there was a huge crowd waiting for them, and winced slightly as they broke into cheers.  
As they walked through the crowd, Toph could feel women kissing her hands, and children tugging her dress. She stopped, reaching for Zuko, not sure what to do. He took her hand, and wrapped his arm around her waist. Mayana went ahead pushing people back behind the lines. They all seemed to know her, and respect her.  
"We've only been gone a week." Toph commented over the crowd.  
"Yeah, this is what happens." Zuko said. He lifted his hand, and all went silent.  
"Please, Lady Toph has very sensitive hearing, if you could keep it down... It would be appreciated." he said, and the crowd murmured softly.  
There was a cry from somewhere to the right. "Lady Toph!" it was Lexxi, trying to push her way through the crowd. She stumbled to the front, and stopped just in front of Toph.  
"Lady Toph, I missed you." she said.  
"And I you." Toph said, kneeling. Zuko put his hand on her shoulder protectively as the crowd began to whisper amongst themselves.  
"I brought you a rose. Mayana came every day, and bought a rose for you." she said. "Even today, but I wanted to give you this one."  
Toph smiled, and reached out slowly, taking the rose carefully.  
"Thank you Lexxi." she said. Zuko tapped her shoulder, and she reached over to take the money from him. She gave it to Lexxi.  
"Now you remember what I told you? If anyone bothers you, come straight to me, or if you have any problems at all." she said.  
Lexxi nodded, and threw her arms around her in a warm hug. Toph returned the hug, and stood letting Zuko lead her to the palace.

Time skip one month later

It was a rainy evening, and no one was out accept one little girl. Rain and mud streaked her clothes and face as she ran to the palace. She slipped and fell at the gates, and a guard was alerted of her presence.  
"Please let me in, I'm Lexxi!" she cried. The guard had heard of this girl, and let her in the gate, leading her up to the palace doors. She knocked, and he left. The door was opened, and Mayana looked out.  
"Lexxi, what-" she began.  
"I must speak with Lady Toph!" Lexxi said.  
"Okay okay, come inside, and we'll get you dried off before you see her." she said.  
Lexxi was cleaned and dried and allowed to wear some dry clothes as she was led to the dance hall where Toph was dancing alone since Zuko was in a meeting.  
She twirled in circles, her hands held out at her sides. She stopped as she heard Mayana.  
"Mayana, what is it?" she asked.  
"Lexxi is here to see you." she answered leaving the room.  
"Lexxi?" she asked.  
"Its mamma, she went into the woods to get roses and never came back, she's been gone for three days!" she exclaimed.  
Toph was surprised by this news. "I'll send someone to look for her, meanwhile, you will stay here in the palace with me." she said.  
Zuko walked into the room just in time to see Lexxi throw her arms around Toph, bursting into tears. Toph held her gently, not offering any words of comfort as the girl sobbed into her dress. She dropped to her knees, and pulled Lexxi down into her arms, cradling her against herself much like Zuko had done for her once.  
Lexxi continued to cry, not noticing Zuko walking across the room to kneel next to Toph.  
"Her mother is missing." Toph whispered into his ear. He nodded, and looked down at Lexxi. She still had her eyes closed, but her tears had ceased. He picked her up, and carried her to a room not far from his and Toph's. He laid her under the covers, and sat on the edge of the bed.  
"Lady Toph and I will be just at the end of the hall, be sure to knock to let us know you're there." he said. "We don't want you scaring Lady Toph now do we?" he asked looking back at Toph.  
Lexxi followed his gaze, and shook her head.  
"Now, you should try to get some sleep." Zuko said softly. "You want me to read to you?" he asked.  
Toph tilted her head, he was never this sensitive around anyone but her, Lexxi must have brought out the best in him.  
She nodded, and Zuko asked her which book. She picked one, and he lit the lamp with firebending, and began to read. Toph listened silently, a smile on her face, the story amused her, and whenever Lexxi laughed she could feel Zuko relax a little. He read until she fell asleep, and closed the book, putting it on the table, and tucking Lexxi into bed.  
He walked softly over to Toph, and gently pushed her out the door, closing it behind him.  
"You big suckie." she commented.  
"What?" he asked slightly surprised.  
"That's it; I've seen through your charade, you really are sensitive."  
"I never said I wasn't." he said with a smile.  
He leaned down pressing his forehead to hers, before he picked her up off of the ground, and walked to their room.  
He closed the door behind them, and strode to the bed, letting Toph go so she fell on it before he joined her, his body hovered over hers while he leaned down to kiss her.  
His lips pressed firmly to hers, his tongue delving into her mouth.  
There was a knock on the door, as Zuko's lips moved down the side of her neck.  
"State your business, and stay out." Toph ordered, tilting her head back with a soft gasp. Her hands fisted in the back of the shirt Zuko was wearing in pleasure.  
"Toph, I have to talk with you!" Mayana called.  
"To-tomorrow." Toph said stuttering slightly as Zuko moved his lips to the other side of her neck.  
"Now if possible!"  
"Later then! In an hour or two, make it two." Toph said pulling Zuko down onto herself.  
"Fine two hours." Mayana said, walking away.  
"Two hours?" Zuko asked with a laugh. "You overestimate my stamina."  
"No, we can take it really slow now." Toph answered with a smile, tilting her head up. Zuko kissed her softly, biting into her lower lip gently.  
The stinging pressure sent shivers down Toph's spine, and she moaned softly, pulling her lip from between his teeth, and pressing her lips to the side of his neck, sucking harshly. He groaned, tilting his head to give her more room.  
She felt his hands pull her up a little to pull the zipper of her dress down. His hand smoothed over her bare back, and under the back of the skirt until he squeezed her butt softly, pushing his fingers into her tight-fitting underwear to brush over her soft skin.  
She moaned softly against his neck, before pulling away, and unbuttoning his shirt slowly, pushing it away from his chest and stomach, stroking his scarred abdomen with a slight frown.  
"I hate your bitch sister." she whispered into his ear, nibbling on his earlobe.  
"So do I." he answered, pulling away from her, and sliding the dress down over her shoulders, and legs, dropping it onto the ground. He pulled the shirt from his own shoulders, letting it fall to the floor as well before leaning down, and kissing her again. Her hands fumbled with the tops of his pants, pushing them down slowly. He pulled his lips away from hers, and looked down, kicking off his pants as he did. He had taken off his shoes when he'd got out of the meeting, so was nearly nude.  
Toph felt his hands travel around to the wrappings that covered her chest, and he unravelled it, baring her for his eyes.  
She sat up as he pulled on her and tilted her head back as he kissed his way down her neck, and took her peaked nipple into his mouth, brushing his tongue over the nub. She moaned, letting her hands travel up his back and into his hair, massaging gently.  
He could feel his erection growing from the sounds she made at his ministrations. He ran his hands up and down her bare back, the pads of his fingers creating swirled wispy patterns over her back. He laid her back down onto the bed, pulling his mouth from her nipple as his hands moved lower down her body, his fingers hooking in the tops of her underwear.  
He pulled them slowly down, and over her legs, dropping them onto the ground as well. Her hands pulled at the front of his boxers, and taking the hint, he slid them off. He pressed his body down into hers, brushing his fingers up her inner thigh softly.  
She gave a moan, and thrusted her hips against his hand as he brushed his fingers over the sensitive bundle of nerves there.  
He continued to pleasure her with his fingers as he leaned down and kissed her deeply, sliding his tongue into her mouth.  
She pulled her lips away from his after a bit, closing her eyes and tilting her head back.  
"Zuko, I want you inside of me..." she begged, brushing her hand over his face softly.  
He pulled his hand away from her, and balanced on his elbows over her. Obliging her wishes, he pushed slowly into her.  
If her head hadn't already been back as far as it could go, it would have been. She gave a soft cry, wrapping her legs around his waist, and her arms around his shoulders.  
He began to thrust when he felt her loosen around him a little. Another cry tore from her at the friction, this one louder. Her breathing quickly became laboured, and her fingers dug into his shoulder blades as he made love with her. His groans joined hers, his eyes closing as he enjoyed the tightness of her. He continued with his pattern for a few more minutes until Toph gave a feral cry, coming over him.  
Her inner walls restricted around him, and before he could pull out, he came.  
His first thought after he could think was: 'what did I just do?'  
He could have impregnated her right there, and with his luck probably did.  
Toph was quiet, thinking about what had happened.  
"Zuko?" she asked softly.  
"Hmm?"  
"What's wrong?"  
"I..."  
"You know you can tell me." Toph said sitting up.  
"It's nothing, I'm just a bit tired." he said softly.  
"Oh, okay, well if you're not too tired, could you help me get dressed, I have to talk to Mayana." she said.  
"Of course." he said sliding on his pants. He helped her put on her clothes, and laid on the bed with her. Her back was pressed against his chest and again it brought back a feeling of Deja vu, although that could have been from anything.  
It was only a while later when Mayana knocked.  
"Enter." Toph said.  
"You're sure?"  
"Yes so either come in or go away." Toph said snuggling into Zuko who wrapped his arms around her waist. He had pulled the top blanket off of the bed, to keep themselves clean, and it was in the corner with his clothes.  
Mayana entered, and Toph sat up pulling Zuko along with her. He moved behind her, and pulled her onto his lap after crossing his legs.  
She rested comfortably against him, looking towards the door when she heard it close.  
Mayana took a few steps into the room, and stopped.  
"Miss Toph..." she began.  
"Mrs." Zuko corrected with a smile that was hidden by Toph's shoulder.  
"Okay, Mrs. Toph, I wanted to know what to do about Lexxi... Is she staying here?"  
"Yes, until we find her mother, and even if we don't find her." Toph said.  
Zuko nodded slightly, pressing his palms against her stomach, and pulling her closer to himself.  
Mayana looked slightly surprised.  
"A commoner?" she asked.  
Toph opened her mouth, but Zuko beat her to it.  
"A child who needs us, she turned to us, the least we could do is take her in." he said.  
Toph smiled softly.  
"And what of this trip you were planning?" she asked.  
"Postpone it to next year." Zuko answered.  
Mayana nodded looking at Toph.  
"What is your opinion?" she asked her.  
"Do it, only if we don't find her mother." she said. "I don't mind missing one trip."  
Mayana nodded, and exited the room.  
"She's too nosy for her own good." Zuko commented.  
"I know, but she's good for me." Toph answered.  
There was a tiny tentative knock on the door that Zuko missed, but Toph looked up.  
"Yes Lexxi, you can come in." she said.  
The door opened just enough for Lexxi to squeeze through, but once she let go of it, it just swung open anyways.  
"L-Lady Toph?" she asked.  
Toph stepped off of the bed, and walked over to her. "Please, call me Toph." she said. "What is it Lexxi?" she asked.  
"Well, I was asleep for a while, but I can't sleep for long unless mamma sings something to me, could you sing?" she asked.  
Toph took her hand and led her back to her own room. She tucked her in, and sat on the edge of the bed.  
Zuko appeared at the doorway as she began to hum his song as he thought of it.  
"Are there words to that?" Lexxi asked softly.  
Toph thought a moment, and began to sing words that suddenly came to her mind.  
"~Home is behind  
The world ahead  
And there are many paths to tread  
Through shadow to the edge of night  
Until the stars are all alight  
Mist and shadow  
Cloud and shade  
All shall fade  
All shall fade...~"  
((to any who have seen the lord of the rings trilogy, yes this is the song that Pippin sings to the creepy old steward guy... XD))  
Lexxi closed her eyes, falling asleep a few moments after.  
Toph stood up, tucking Lexxi into bed once again before walking back towards the door. Zuko moved out of her way, crossing his arms as she closed the door.  
"I thought that was my song..." he said.  
"It is, it's the only song I know how to sing." she said.  
"Ahh..." he said. He took her hand and led her back to their room, kicking the door closed, and picking her up. He laid her gently on the bed, and laid next to her, his breath washing over her ear as he talked softly to her. His words were nearly intelligible, but Toph got the gist of it. She turned towards him wrapping her arms around him, and pulling herself into him.  
"I love you Zuko... More than anything." she said kissing him softly.  
"I know, and I love you too." Zuko answered as she pulled away.  
He wrapped his own arms around her, and rested his chin on the top of her head. He felt her sigh and closed his eyes, following her into a light sleep.  
No one woke them the next morning, so they both woke late, Mayana had her day off, so Zuko helped Toph put on her corset. He felt bad for her, it looked so uncomfortable. He pushed his knee into the small of her back as Mayana did, and pulled the strings tight. He also felt bad for Mayana, those damn strings were like blades, they would have cut through anyone's hands if they didn't know how to hold them.  
He reached the top, and went back to the bottom pulling them again, until he reached the top, then he tied it. He helped her pull on her dress, and zipped up the back, and she sat on the chair in front of the mirror.  
Now he knew why her back was always so rigid and straight, no one could slouch in that corset. He took the brush in his hand, and brushed her hair slowly. Starting at the top in the center and on either side he made three French braids, braiding the three at the back and tying it off. He put Toph's tiara on her, and had her stand. He fixed her dress, straightening it before he kissed her softly.  
"You look beautiful." he said.  
She reached up, and ran her fingers over the braids.  
"Where did you learn to braid?" she asked.  
"Mother, she had me braid her hair because Azula never had the patience." he answered, fixing her tiara so it was straight before he leaned down to look in the mirror. He took his own hair down, and retied it, tighter this time, and replaced the Firelord piece.  
He stood, entwining his arm with Toph's and leading her out of the room.  
They entered the dance hall and sat down in front of the fire. Toph curled up next to Zuko, drawing her knees up, and leaning against him. They sat quietly eating the small breakfast that the servants brought, and talking softly together.  
There was a knock at the door, and Zuko looked up a butler was standing there, looking pompous. "Firelord Zuko... You are needed urgently in the war chamber..." he said in a haughty voice.  
Zuko stood, pulling Toph with him, until he was jerked to a halt. He looked back; the butler had grabbed Toph's other wrist stopping her from following. "The girl must stay here." he said.  
Zuko turned back towards him, grabbing the front of his jacket, and picking him up nearly off of the ground.  
"Unhand her." he hissed.  
The butler let go of Toph's arm, and she moved behind Zuko with a snide smile. The butler's eyes were wide with fear as he looked down into Zuko's angered face.  
"You are not permitted to touch her... Ever." Zuko growled throwing the butler onto the ground. "Get out of my sight."  
The older man scrambled to his feet, and out of the door, Toph could hear and feel him run away, and laughed. "You didn't have to do that, I could have dealt with him." she said.  
"What can I say, I'm a jealous guy." he said with a laugh. "No one but me and a few selected others are even allowed to look at you without previous permission."  
"Okay, well we're needed in the war chamber." she said.  
Zuko led the way to the huge room, and Toph sat on his right as a short meeting started. Zuko's fire blocked everyones view of him and Toph, but they knew he was there.  
He yawned slightly in the middle of the meeting, and Toph couldn't help but smile. The lead-person-guy or whatever stood in the center of the table, going on and on about something or other.  
"It is not of my concern whether or not your men agree with my views. They have their orders now make them follow them!" Zuko said, his voice rising in annoyance.  
Toph smiled, Zuko was right, and if it had been her she would have said just about the same thing. She leaned back on her hands sighing softly, and letting the heat of Zuko's flames warm her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting out another soft sigh.  
Zuko looked at her and did a double-take, turning to fully look at her. She was absolutely beautiful.  
The firelight danced over her pale skin, bathing it a reddish-orange colour that only fire can create. Her neck stretched in a gentle arch down into her chest, and his eyes followed the curve of her full breasts, and flat stomach, down over her legs and back up to her face.  
"Firelord Zuko?" the lead guy whatever asked loudly.  
"Huh? What?"  
"I asked what I should do about that navy ship that has yet to be found."  
"Uhh, find it, start at the North Pole and work your way down, a little hint... They'll be near the water." he answered.  
Everyone but the lead guy whatever laughed softly, even Toph.  
Everyones laughter stopped as they heard Toph. Her laughter stopped with theirs though, do there was only a moment of confusion before everything was back on track.  
The leader continued to talk and finally Zuko got annoyed.  
"Do something other than sitting here doing nothing! You expect me to fix all your problems, I am only one man, and I can only do so much! Now leave here, we'll speak some other time." Zuko said cutting everyone off.  
Everyone looked up, and Toph just smiled. All of the men left, closing the big heavy doors behind them, and Zuko sighed.  
"Wow, I have never been more frustrated with anyone other than them. They call me to these meetings to complain about what they can't and won't do, then ask me what to do." Zuko said. There was an edge to his voice, but it wasn't directed at Toph.  
She got up from the cushion she was sitting on, and moved over toward Zuko. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled herself into him, her lips just barely touching his. He pushed forward, pressing their lips firmly together, and wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her up, and onto his lap. She hitched her dress up around her thighs, and wrapped her legs around him, pressing her body flat against his.  
Zuko pulled away, moving his mouth down the side of her neck with soft butterfly kisses. She tilted her head back, and moaned softly. Even though she couldn't see it, she could feel it as the fire got hotter, and grew higher.  
Zuko's hands were on her back, and she could feel their heat through all of her clothes, his lips were hot as well, and when she touched his face, she had to pull her hand away quickly.  
His entire body was heating up. He pulled his mouth away from her neck.  
"Get off me." he said softly.  
Toph did as he told her to, quickly moving away from him.  
"Zuko?" she questioned reaching out, this had never happened before, and she was a bit worried.  
She could hear his steady breathing as he meditated, and the fire gradually began to die down. As he drew in his breath, the fire went down farther, and when he exhaled the fire got slightly higher.  
Toph waited for him to do whatever he was doing, and calm down.  
Minutes passed, and finally Zuko opened his eyes and looked at Toph.  
"Sorry, mixed emotions tend to cause me to 'overheat'." he said with a laugh.  
"Does that happen to others as well?" Toph asked.  
"Very few, only those who have very quick tempers." he answered.  
"And how often does this happen."  
"When I'm around large amounts of fire, and I'm feeling many different things at the same time." he said standing, and pulling Toph to her feet.  
With a wave of his hand, he bent the fire away, letting it die down completely. The room was dark now, but they just walked up the center of it, and pushed open the door. Zuko led Toph to their room, and sat on the bed.  
"We can continue what we started before." he said. "Or do something else."  
Toph sat next to him, leaning against him.  
"You know, I used to be jealous of Katara. She always got the guys, first there was that Jet guy, then twinkle toes, then you, then back to twinkle toes, and then she couldn't decide between you and him." she said. "I know she never 'got' you, but she liked to think she did. Then there was Suki who took Sokka... I used to like him and his idiocy, but he's too much of a megalomaniac for me, he loves himself way too much..."  
"But then?" Zuko coaxed, knowing there was more to this than she'd said.  
"But then I found you... Or rather you found me. I never understood why you went with me instead of Sugar queen, I mean, I am rude and uncouth and never know when to shut my big mouth, but I think I get it now, you need someone in your life who won't listen to every little thing you tell them to do, and someone who can take care of themselves and won't hang on your every word. Sugar queen would be in her glory here, she'd have every servant in this place looking after her, and she'd be ordering everyone around. Lexxi definitely wouldn't be here. Katara isn't as kind hearted as everyone thinks, she helps others yeah, but it's for social status, not out of the goodness of her heart." Toph continued. Zuko listened quietly as she vented, preferring to stay out of her way.  
"I have to admit, that first time I was actually alone with you while looking for Aang, I was nervous... I used to be scared of you. So you stopped and moved towards me, and I tried to move away, I didn't want you that close to me. Your hands on my shoulders wasn't what stopped me, I could have broke both your arms if I so needed, but it was your heartbeat. The calming rhythm I could feel through your hands, and the ground. I could tell that you were nervous as well, and I wanted to see what was up. I had always wanted to kiss someone before, maybe Sokka, but he had a girl. Then there was you, how mad would Sugar queen have been if I managed to take you. I thought that over for a long time before you and I were alone. Then you kissed me, and it was like nothing I had ever felt before, it made me want to fly. I was like clay in your hands; you could have moulded me into something I wasn't if you had wanted.  
Your hands were on my back, pulling me closer, then you pulled away, and the feeling of euphoria stopped. The next kiss was just as pleasing, it was slower, and deeper, and so full of emotion, but of course Sugar queen had to ruin it by showing up. I thought that maybe you had only kissed me to get rid of your frustrations from Katara, but I was so wrong, it's not funny.  
And here we are, months later, our love still blossoms, and still, every time you kiss me, I feel like my world is complete again. You gave me wings, and let me fly, you set me free.  
The saying says; if you love something you should set it free and if it loves you it'll come back.  
You set me free, and I'll always come back." Toph said.  
Zuko listened to her words, knowing that what she said was the truth.  
He brushed his fingers over the side of her face, and tilted her head up to kiss her softly. She melted into his embrace, pressing her lips to his firmly. He laid her back onto the bed, hovering over her, his lips still pressed to hers. The door scraped on the floor as it opened, and there was a small gasp. Zuko moved quickly away from Toph, sitting up and looking at the door.  
Toph stayed where she was, her hands resting on either side of her head, she closed her eyes, and relaxed completely. Zuko wondered what she was doing, and looked down at her.  
"I-I'm so sorry!" the maid exclaimed, backing up.  
Zuko waved his hand, and Toph spoke softly.  
"Come here." she said.  
The maid walked into the room, and up to the bed, she stood with her head bowed, and her hands folded in embarrassment.  
"What do I have to do to get you and the others to knock?" Toph asked opening her eyes, and turning her head so she was staring at the ceiling.  
"N-nothing, please don't make an example of me." the maid begged.  
"Do I look like Azula to you?" Toph asked softly. "Just don't let it happen again."  
"Thank you! Thank you Lady Toph." the young maid exclaimed.  
"Now do what you came here to do, and leave us." Toph said.  
The maid bustled around the room, picking up discarded clothes, and blankets, and straightening things. She was working as quickly and efficiently as she could, and Toph didn't bother her about it. She lay still on the bed, and waited patiently.  
The maid could feel Zuko's eyes on her, and every time she looked at him, his unwavering amber glare unnerved her slightly.  
She wondered why he was watching her so closely, but didn't let it bother her, he was probably just pissed that she had interrupted.  
He watched her as she left, signalling that she should be quiet. She looked at Toph but she had her eyes open, so she couldn't be asleep... Maybe he meant that she should be quiet about what she walked in on...  
Once the door was closed, Zuko leaned down over Toph. He didn't kiss her again, preferring to just look at her.  
"If the mood is dead, we can bring it back." Toph whispered and Zuko laughed.  
She leaned up kissing his cheek softly, before lying back onto the bed. He followed her, pressing his lips to hers gently.  
"Maybe we can do this later." he said softly.  
Toph looked slightly disappointed, pouting in an unnatural manner for her.  
Zuko smiled, and leaned down again. "Or we can do it now." he said taking her lip between his teeth, and biting down softly.  
Toph hissed, closing her eyes and tilting her head back slightly.  
Zuko pulled her lip into his mouth, sucking on it softly and brushing his tongue over it.  
Toph moaned softly, loving the pleasureful feeling. His mouth was unnaturally hot to her right then, and again she could feel heat radiating from him, but this time it didn't bother her, rather it comforted her. He let go of her lip, pressing his mouth to hers in an open mouthed kiss. The heat from his mouth invaded hers, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. If he'd noticed that he was getting warmer, he didn't register it, because he kept kissing her deeply.  
His hands moved down over her body and she could feel him shaking slightly.  
She pulled away from him. "Zuko, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." he said, sitting up. "We should continue this later."

Toph 'watched' him leave, part anger, and part sorrow rising in her chest. She stood as well and wandered around the palace for a while until she began to feel guilty for how she had reacted. She followed the feeling of someone pacing and found Zuko, walking back and forth along the small table in the war chamber. She sat down on the edge of it, and waited for a few moments after he stopped.

He sat next to her with a sigh. "Sorry." he said.

"Don't worry about it." she said. "I was being selfish."

"You're not selfish."

"I can be."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Zuko replied without thinking.

"What about you?" She snapped.

"I can be too." he replied, he had no idea what his own words would do.

"I'm not always so bitchy as you can tell," Toph sighed. "You are more important than me." she said.  
"No don't say that. Don't you ever even think that! There is nothing in this world more important to me than you!" he said shaking her gently.  
Toph frowned she hadn't expected that reaction. "Nothing? Not family, friends or yourself?"  
"Nothing, and I want you to promise me that you'll always put your own safety first for me." he said.  
"I can't do that. You and my friends are more important than me." she said.  
"Would you die for them and me?"  
"I would try for all of you."  
"You didn't answer the question!" he exclaimed.  
"Yes! Yes I would die for all of you."  
"That's not what I want to hear!"  
"I don't care what you want to hear!" she yelled pushing him away and standing. "Just because you care for nothing but yourself doesn't mean I can be the same way!"  
"Toph-" he began.  
"Don't even bother! I think you can sleep alone tonight!" Toph said stalking towards their room. Zuko grabbed her wrist before she could get there.  
"Let go of me! You selfish, spoiled bastard!" she yelled at him wrenching her arm from his grasp.  
Zuko stood dumbfounded as she ran out of the room slamming the door behind her. Each word she had said against him had cut deeply, and squeezed his heart painfully.  
He mentally slapped himself, she was too noble to leave her friends, and he should have known that.  
He turned and walked away, leaving her to calm down for a while.

**Chapter four... the longest one yet... XD. I hope you enjoyed it. I don't think that this one turned out as good as it should have; please tell me what you think.**

**By the way, I'm sorry that this is all clumped together like this, the story was not written on my computer, I'm sorry.**


	5. Chapter 5

**OMG chapter five…XD**

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Once again, please review, it is much appreciated…XD Thanks for all the people who reviewed, you all made my day. Lol. Sorry if this seems rushed, especially the sexual scenes, my mother was hanging over my shoulder almost the entire time. She pisses me off sometimes.**

Toph threw herself onto the bed, sobbing her frustrations into the pillows. This seemed to be the first real fight they'd had, and it was about something so stupid. She curled in on herself feeling suddenly cold and alone in the huge bed. Zuko hadn't come to say anything to her and she supposed that he had left to think things over, and she should do the same.

/Later that night/

Zuko sat up from the bed he was sleeping in for now, and looked around. A sound of some sort had woken him, and he got out of the bed, walking barefoot across the cold stone floor to the door. Opening it silently he followed the sounds down the hall, and peeked around the corner to where the noise originated. He was standing in darkness so the two figures weren't able to see him.

Two people were moving rhythmically against the wall, a soft moan escaping one of them every now and woman was standing with her front pressed against the wall while a man stood behind her, they were in front of the window, and the cold blue light of the moon shone on them. The woman turned her head, and Zuko's eyes widened as he recognized Mayana, the man behind her pulled her dress up a little, and Zuko realized what they were doing. They were having sex in the middle of the night against a wall. This man had no respect for her at all, and that infuriated Zuko slightly.

He took a step back, and walked away rubbing his face to try and rid of the got to his door, and paused looking all the way down the hall to his and Toph's room. Making up his mind he walked swiftly down the hall, and opened their bedroom door slowly. He walked inside, and closed the door quietly, moving over towards the bed on silent feet. He stood over the bed watching Toph sleep, the moonlight glittered on her pale skin making her look like the goddess she was.

Toph was slowly woken from her sleep by a presence near to her, her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up.

"Who's there?" she asked softly.

"Me." Zuko answered.

Her expression darkened slightly, obviously she was still mad at him.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"To apologise." he said. "Toph, I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean to."

Toph's expression softened. "Why do you always make it so damn hard for me to stay mad at you?" she asked flipping back the blankets, and standing. She opened her arms and Zuko drew her into his embrace, kissing her softly.

"I'm s-"

"Stop apologizing already, it should be me apologising." she said cutting him off.

"What?"

"I didn't mean what I said either. I don't think you're spoiled, or selfish, and you might be a bastard and a jerk, but you're my jerk." She said with a laugh.

Zuko's laughter joined hers, and he pulled her into his arms again.

He laid her on the bed, kissing her softly, and laying next to her.

"Tell me, how are our fights resolved so easily?" Zuko asked as he lay quietly on his back.

Toph shrugged. "Shouldn't you be happy about that?" she asked.

"I am, I was just wondering." he said.

Toph laughed softly, closing her eyes and snuggling into him. A few minutes later she was asleep, and Zuko thought for a while before falling into his own light sleep.

/Time skip, six days/

Toph had been insisting on wearing dresses that slightly showed off her figure, all for Zuko. Mayana was a little confused, but she didn't offer any of her opinions. Mayana had seemed immensely happy for the past few days and whenever Toph asked about it, she only answered with; I'm just feeling great today. Zuko of course knew the truth, and watched Mayana with an amused smile whenever Toph asked.

Lexxi never noticed that Mayana was acting differently mostly because she spent hours alone in the library reading some of the many thousands of books. She was completely engrossed in them, never really noticing the guards that Zuko sent to check up on her.

There was one day that Lexxi had been going through the books when she found one written completely in little bumps over the pages.  
She took it to Toph, and held it open.

"Toph what is this?" she asked.

"I can't read it sweetie." Toph said.

"No, it's all in bumps, see feel..." Lexxi said shaking the book slightly.

Toph reached out and brushed her fingers over the page.

"Brail." she said softly.

"What?"

"It's brail... Lexxi, can I have this book for now? Go and find another to read." Toph said.

She brought the book to Zuko, showing it to him.

"It's a book Toph." he said opening it. "I don't see what's... So... Interesting..." he said slowly looking down at the book. He brushed his hand over the pages. "What is this book?" he asked.

"It's brail, it's for a blind person to read." she said. "The bumps spell out codes for words."

"Okay, do you know how to read this?" he asked.

"No, I was hoping you could find someone who could teach me."

"Of course." he answered. "I'll do my utmost."

Mayana was also interested in the book. "The side says that it's fairy tales." she said reading the spine which was written. "Should be interesting. You'll have to read it to me when you know how."

Toph nodded, taking the book and putting in into her drawer.

/Time skip- two weeks/

Zuko was laying on his stomach on the bed sleeping when Toph entered their room quietly. She closed the door, and walked silently over to the bed, climbing on it without moving it too much. She straddled Zuko's waist, pressing her lips against the back of his shoulder. He wasn't wearing a shirt right then, and she took the chance to touch him. He sighed softly in his sleep as she began to suck on his shoulder blade softly, leaving a mark. She moved down under that one, and left another, then another under that one. Soon there were eight or nine in a row, ranging from his shoulder blade to the middle of his back. Her ministrations were beginning to wake him, and he shifted slightly opening his eyes. He could feel Toph's lips on his back and turned his head.

"What are you doing?" he asked softly.

She didn't answer instead she just moved her lips farther down his back, sucking softly. She stopped only when she reached the top of his pants, and then moved up again, sucking on his shoulder, and leaving a mark there as well. She bit down lightly on the side of his neck, before sucking there.

"Do you want me to look like a spotted eel-cat?" he asked.

"Yes." she said.

"Okay, I'm yours to do as you please with." he said.

She turned him over, pinning his hands to the bed, biting and sucking at the side of his neck from her place on top of him. She could hear his soft moans and gasps of pain as she bit him, and wished she could see his face, even just for a moment. She continued her journey over his body, mapping him out with her lips, teeth and tongue. Every dip and groove was explored with precision, and every muscle was given thorough treatment by either her tongue or lips. She bit down lightly on his side, and he arched his back slightly. She didn't hear the door open, and neither did Zuko.

Mayana stood in the doorway, watching silently, usually it was Zuko starting this kind of thing wasn't it? She watched Toph work her way over his body, and smiled, Zuko wasn't the only one that was good with his tongue. She wasn't sure why she was watching this, Toph was her mistress after all, but she felt more like a younger sister, so maybe that was why she would watch and tell her what she did wrong later. She could tell that Zuko was enjoying himself from the look on his face. His eyes were closed, and a moan would leave him now and again and that only seemed to egg Toph on. She was becoming more daring by the minute, her tongue slowly brushing over Zuko's skin, and her teeth scraping at the tender parts. Mayana realized that she was wrong; this girl knew how to use her entire mouth to cause as much pleasure as possible. Toph moved slowly south along Zuko's body, pulling at the tops of his pants with her teeth when she reached them. She undid the knot with her mouth since her hands were busy holding Zuko's arms down. He was resisting her finally, trying to pull his arms out of her grasp.

"Toph, stop." he said breathlessly.

"Hmm, I don't think so." she said moving up to press her lips to his... well mostly to his. He moved his face so that she was kissing him fully. Obviously he had a very weak will when it came to what Toph wanted, and right then she wanted him. Mayana moved into the room, closing the door and moving quickly over to Toph's changing room door where she could sit on the floor and watch.  
Toph let go of one of Zuko's arms, pushing her hand into his pants, and wrapping her fingers around him. He gasped softly, arching his back slightly at the pressure the hand caused. He rested his freed hand on her shoulder, ready to pull her away should she try what he was sure she wanted to do. She pulled his length out of his pants, and stroked him slowly. Mayana could feel her eyes widen slightly at the size of him, for a seventeen year old, he was pretty big. Toph let go of his other hand, and immediately he caught her wrist.

"Toph, please stop." he begged.

"No..." she answered.

Mayana smiled softly as a question crossed her mind; was this considered rape?

Zuko didn't want to push her away because he wasn't really sure he actually wanted her to stop, it felt so good.  
He hadn't been paying enough attention to notice Toph moving slowly down the line of his body until something hot and wet engulfed the head of his dick.

"Ah, Toph!" he moaned, looking down. The sight that met his eyes was one to behold, Toph had taken him into her mouth, as far as she could while her hands worked at the base of his shaft. He tilted his head back, his hands burying themselves in her hair on their own. This felt so incredible, nothing like this had ever happened to him. He forced himself not to buck his hips up, not wanting to choke her. She worked painfully slow, brushing her tongue over his sensitive skin softly. She could feel her mouth filling up with saliva, and swallowed experimentally. She felt Zuko shudder and did it again, he moaned softly, his hands tightening their grip in her hair slightly. Enough to cause pressure, but not enough to cause pain.

Mayana watched silently, her eyes wide, and her breathing slightly heavy. Zuko could feel his release coming, and tried to say something, but words wouldn't come out. He cried out as he came into her mouth. Toph felt slightly surprised as the liquid hit the back of her throat, and swallowed before pulling away. Mayana wrinkled her nose, not believing that she had swallowed. Zuko pulled her up and kissed her again, he could taste himself in her mouth, and moaned softly, pulling her closer for a deeper kiss. She obliged, her hands working to cover him up again as his tongue invaded her mouth. A few minutes passed and finally Zuko pulled away from her.

"Wow, you should wake me up more often." he commented, and Toph laughed.

"I thought I'd try something new." Toph said.

"Well, you succeeded, where'd you learn to do that?" he asked.

"Uhh..." Toph paused. "Reading certain stuff that's in brail in the library."

Mayana felt shocked, she had never known there was such dirty literature in the family library, although that could be why it was in brail.

"Okay... Maybe I should limit what you're allowed to read." he said.

"Do that and you'll never get this again." Toph said moving so she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Zuko thought for a minute. "Or I could give you all the freedom you want." he said laughing.

Toph laughed with him, lying next to him on the bed. Mayana waited until she thought they were both asleep when she opened the door and moved quietly towards the exit.

"What is it Mayana?" Toph asked softly being sure not to wake Zuko again.

"I just came in to get the laundry." Mayana answered quickly. Toph nodded slightly and waved her hand for her to continue. Mayana picked up the clothes and such and left thankful that Toph didn't suspect her of spying. Toph lay close to Zuko; she had known that Mayana was there, she wasn't good at hiding her presence, or keeping her breathing quiet. She would confront her about it tomorrow, for now, she was content to sleep even though she felt entirely unfulfilled. She woke later that night, sitting up in a cold sweat, Zuko wasn't near her, but as she reached out, she felt his bare skin under her fingers. She sighed softly, drawing her knees up, and burying her face in them, she couldn't remember what woke her, but it had to have been pretty bad. Zuko shifted, turning towards her, and leaning up onto his elbow.

"Toph?" he questioned.

She lifted her head. "Sorry if I woke you." she said.

"Nah, you didn't. What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just had a weird feeling." she said pressing her hand onto his chest.

Zuko lit the lamp by the bed with a flick of his wrist, and sat up completely.

"What kind of feeling?" he asked.

"I don't really know, I think it was just a nightmare, but I don't know how, I've never seen anything, so what's to be afraid of?" she asked softly she could feel his heartbeat, and already it was calming her. She laid down again facing away from him.

"I don't know." he said truthfully.

"What is there to be afraid of other than the dark?" Toph asked only to get the same answer.

She sighed and closed her eyes; she felt him move as he scooted closer to her, hovering over her he leaned down and kissed her shoulder. His hand brushed over her skin softly as he waited for her to initiate the next conversation. It was a long wait. Finally she sighed, and sat up again, wrapping her arms around Zuko's waist and burying her face in his chest. His hands moved soothingly over her back and shoulders.

"I've never been able to see, but there are times when I wish so hard that I could. Times I wish that just for a minute I could see my surroundings and the faces of the people I love." she said brushing her hand over Zuko's face. He waited sensing that she wasn't done.

"I don't know what you look like, not really, I suppose I could ask someone to describe you in perfect detail, but that's still not the same. I want to see everything, to see the colours I only know by touch, and see all of the things I've been missing throughout my fourteen years. I haven't seen anything, nothing but darkness. I'm sick of the dark, I want to see the light not just feel its heat, and I want to read a book, not read brail. I need to see you, I need to know what you look like, and I need to know that you love me, I need to see it. I need to see you just once so I can keep you close to my heart, not just your voice and your sonic image." she continued.  
Zuko squeezed her lightly, it sounded like she was close to tears.

"I have no idea what anything or anyone looks like. I have no clue what I look like, whether I'm as beautiful as you say. I don't know if anything is as beautiful as others say... I don't even know what beautiful looks like, I have no idea what ugly, pretty, average, or nice look like either. I was told that I am innocently pretty, but I have no idea what makes me look innocent, whether it's my youth, or just how I look. I... I..." she trailed off as silent sobs overtook her body. She dug her fingers into Zuko's back as he held her, this was the first time she had ever told him how her blindness made her feel. He had never known how much it affected her...

/Time skip- next day/

Toph stood still as Mayana helped her dress, the tension in the air was so thick you could cut it, but Toph said nothing preferring to let Mayana start.

"So..." Mayana began.

"So..."

"I Uhh..."

"You what?" Toph asked.

"You know don't you?"

"Yep."

"Okay... So you're not mad?"

"No, just what were you doing?"

"I was... Watching."

Toph frowned, she knew this, why was she watching? "Why?" she asked.

"I came by to talk to you, and you were doing things to Zuko. I figured I'd watch to give you tips or something like that."

"Well, what tips do you have for me" Toph asked.

"Uhh... None, you did well, although I think you should have got him to do something for you." she answered, brushing off Toph's dress.

"I'm surprised you swallowed as well, that stuff looks disgusting."

Toph smiled brushing her tongue over her teeth. "Actually, it's not bad, kind of like drinking water with some flour in it to thicken it. It tastes salty like sea water too."

Mayana stopped moving for a second, a slightly disgusted look on her face. "Okay... That still sounds gross..." she said. She had finished dressing Toph, and she found herself being dragged down the hallways by her.

She pulled her into the kitchen, and got a glass of water. She put some flour in it with a teaspoon of salt, and stirred it until it thickened. She pushed the glass across the counter at Mayana.

"Drink it." she said. It wasn't really an order, but Mayana listened anyways downing it in one gulp. She sat for a moment, thinking over the taste, and feel.

"Huh, it's not that bad." she said.

"I told you." Toph said putting the glass in the sink. She turned towards the door as she felt someone coming, leaning on the counter slightly.

"Morning Mayana, Toph." Lexxi said tiredly.

"Good morning." Toph said turning on the water, and washing the glass. Lexxi sat at the counter next to Mayana, looking expectantly at Toph.

"What can I get you?" Toph asked.

"Cereal?"

"Okay..." Toph said opening the cupboard; she brushed her fingers over one box. "A little help?"

"Third to your left." Mayana said.

Toph took the box down, and put it on the counter along with a bowl. She opened the fridge, and turned towards Mayana.

"Uhh, the glass bottle on the top right, at the front." she said.

Toph put it onto the counter in front of Lexxi who began to make her breakfast and eat. Toph felt someone else coming, and stood straight expectantly.

"Who is it?" Mayana asked.

"Zuko." Toph answered.

"How can you tell?"

"The way he walks, he keeps his weight centered on his toes, and walks with a slight saunter that comes from being rich." Toph answered.

Mayana laughed. "I'm willing to bet that it is him then." she said.

Zuko walked into the room, and Mayana laughed again, shaking her head slightly.

"What?" Zuko asked looking down at himself.

"How many other people can you do that with?" Mayana asked. "Like tell what they're like just from how they walk?"

"Everyone." Toph answered. "Like the servant that's about to pass, is male, carrying logs for the fire, he's strong, but shy, and pigeon-toed."

The servant walked by, and Mayana laughed in disbelief. "You're right all the way down to the pigeon toes."

Zuko walked over towards them leaning on the counter slightly. He reached out for Toph as she took a step forwards, his fingers hooked under her chin, pulling her face up to place a chaste kiss on her lips. Lexxi gagged slightly, and Zuko laughed letting his head hang down slightly. Toph reached up, and pulled the firelord hairpiece out of his hair.

"Hey, what are you doing with that?" he asked her.

"You need better servants s'got a smudge on it." Toph said purposely slurring her words. She placed it back into his hair, making sure it was straight.

"Are you asking for the job?" he asked.

Toph snorted, "No, I have enough problems without looking after you too, maybe if you weren't rich." she said.

Lexxi laughed. "You guys have the weirdest conversations." she said.

"Eat." Mayana said pushing her bowl closer to her.

"Humph, fine then." Lexxi huffed continuing to eat.

Toph smiled, resting her head on Zuko's shoulder to hide it.

"Well, I have to be present at a baptism of a nobleman's child, so I'll see y'all later." Toph said kissing Zuko again, and leaving to go to the church.

Mayana was always a little tense around Zuko, and this time was no different. Lexxi was completely oblivious to the tension, and continued eating.

"So, which nobleman is it?" Zuko asked.

"Lord Julian." Mayana answered.

"Isn't he a little old to have a kid?" Zuko asked.

"His wife isn't."

"Ah yes, young lady Ophelia." he commented. "She's what, around eighteen?"

"Around." Mayana answered.

"Huh, and he's...?"

"Fifty something..."

"That is disgusting." Zuko said wrinkling his nose.

"I'd say."

"Well, I have to... Uh go." Zuko said, leaving the room quickly.

"What's with him?" Lexxi asked.

"I have no idea." Mayana said looking over at her. "Finish up."

Zuko was sitting near the fire in the dance hall, playing with the flames when Toph got back. She walked silently up behind him kneeling quietly. He still hadn't noticed her, she let her fingers play up his back and over his shoulders massaging gently. He sighed softly, tilting his head down slightly and letting the fire flicker of its own accord. She leaned forwards, kissing his neck softly and brushing her tongue over his skin even as she continued massaging his shoulders. She rested her forehead on his back, content to just sit like that as she wrapped her arms around his neck, linking her fingers together. He said nothing knowing that if she wanted to talk she would, it was obvious that she was at least a little tired. Soon he found that she had actually fallen asleep against him, and turned slowly being careful not to wake her he pulled her into his chest, and held her close letting her sleep. He wrapped his arms around her, rocking back and forth slightly, a movement he wasn't even realizing he was making, and leaned down slightly. It was about half an hour when she finally woke again, she was still wrapped in Zuko's arms, but he had leaned back against the couch, and fallen asleep himself. She squeezed him slightly, and he woke lifting his head and looking down at her.

"Hmm?"

"I didn't say anything, but thanks." she said laying her head on his chest.

She felt it rise for a few seconds as he yawned, and smiled as she listened to his heartbeat.

"Yeah, no problem." he said.

He sat up slightly, and shifted her in his arms to make himself more comfortable.

They sat quietly for a while until Mayana knocked on the door.

"Lunch is ready, do you want me to bring it to you, or will you be eating in the dining hall?" she asked.

Toph stood, brushing herself off and pulling Zuko with her. "We'll eat there." she answered.

Zuko led her to the room, and she sat on his right side at the head of the table. They were both silent, and Mayana stood against the wall waiting for them to finish so she could clean.

"Mayana?" Toph asked.

"Yes?"

"Go and get someone else to clean this up, I will need your services after I am finished." Toph said waving her hand to dismiss Mayana.  
She left the room shaking her head, Toph certainly had strange moods, or maybe she was just thinking about something. She usually got all business like when she was thinking something over; the only problem was usually when she was thinking hard it was about something about, or for Zuko. After lunch, Toph led Mayana to her changing room.

"Okay, tonight is my and Zuko's four month anniversary, and I would like to do something special for him." she said.

"What about the last three anniversaries?"

"I forgot, but this time I didn't, so I need your help."

"My help?"

"Yes, you know more than I do."

"I don't know I can't read those books you can."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Just help me."

"Okay, I think I have an idea." Mayana said helping Toph get undressed.

She had her wear a long kimono, and the necklace Zuko gave her along with her wedding and engagement rings, not that she didn't usually wear them... He had given her three rings, one engagement ring with a diamond the size of Saturn in it, a gold wedding band, and another wedding ring that was silver with a ruby surrounded by emeralds and diamonds. Her hands felt heavy with all of them on, but she wore them without complaint, Zuko had given them to her after all. Mayana went to get Zuko while Toph stood leaning against the end of the bed. Mayana practically had to shove Zuko through the door so she didn't have to answer any questions, and he grumbled about that, but his grumbling stopped as he saw Toph. The first thing he saw were her feet shuffling on the floor as she waited, then her pale legs as his gaze moved up over her wide feminine hips, slender waist, and finally all the way to her face. He stood for a few minutes, just admiring her and becoming aroused just from looking at her.

He knew she was aware that he was there, and took a step forwards. He saw something glittering on her hands and smiled as he recognized the rings he had given her. She pushed herself away from the bed moving gracefully to stand in front of him. She felt herself being drawn into his strong arms, and if she could see she would have seen that his amber eyes were glowing with an inner fire, a fire that flared even hotter as he lowered his head and kissed her. As always, the touch of his mouth to hers drove everything else from her mind until she felt only him, wanted only him. Her arms slid up around his neck, her body leaning into his like a lost lamb seeking shelter. A small clinical part of her mind finally realized how well they fit together, but even that was forgotten as his hands moved over her- hot, eager hands that caressed her with exquisite tenderness. She slid her hands under his shirt, her greedy fingers moving lightly over his back. His skin was smooth and warm to the touch. Intoxicating.

She had a crazy urge to rip off his shirt, and drag him down onto the floor to explore the warm muscled length of his body pressing down onto hers, to feel his mouth, hot and hungry on hers. He whispered her name, his voice filled with the same urgent longing that possessed her. She pulled away, stepping back out of his arms and moving towards the bed. He stopped her before she could lie down though, and when she began to undress, he gently batted her hands away.

"Let me." he said, his voice rough with desire.

Toph stood there blushing as Zuko slowly bared her body to his gaze.

He took off his shoes, and was about to slip off his shirt when she said "My turn."

With hands that trembled with eager excitement, she removed his shirt, pants and boxers exploring his body again with her fingertips.  
He wrapped his arms around her waist, laying her on the bed moments before joining her. He brushed his fingers down over her body, touching places that were forbidden to all but him, and kneading her flesh gently. He pressed his lips to hers again, sliding his tongue into her mouth, tasting hers and moulding his taste with hers. She moaned softly, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer. His hands continued on their journey over her body, caressing gently as his lips moved down over her neck. She could feel his erection pressing against her stomach, and reached down, wrapping her hand around him. He groaned softly into the side of her neck, thrusting into her hand slightly as she began to stroke him slowly. She nibbled softly on his earlobe, drawing another appreciative moan from him. He pressed his body down onto hers, halting her movements. She pulled her hand out from between them, replacing it on his back as his arousal pressed against her she wrapped her legs around him giving him both access and permission to enter her. He pressed forwards slowly, and she threw her head back, a small cry tearing from her.

"Zuko..." she gasped softly, tightening her embrace around him.

He waited for a few moments until he felt her grow accustomed to his size. She gasped softly as he pulled out of her only to push back in slowly. His pace started slow, but her pleads and moans pressed him to go faster. She could feel her climax coming ever so slightly closer, and threw her head back, her mouth open in a silent scream. Zuko leaned down and kissed her, silencing her moans of pleasure as she came. Moments before he came he pulled away from her, not wanting the pregnancy scare from before when he didn't make it. He would have preferred to stay inside of her, but if he didn't want kids, that was impossible. He rolled off of her, collapsing on his back next to her.

"Happy anniversary." she gasped.

"What?" "Tonight is our four month anniversary." she said rolling onto her side, and resting her head on his shoulder while her arm wrapped around him slightly.

He laughed softly, pulling her into him gently she sighed contentedly, and he pulled the blankets out from under them tossing the top one onto the floor, and covering both of their bodies with the cool sheets felt good on Toph's still heated skin and she snuggled into Zuko, hooking her hand on his shoulder as she brushed her fingers over the skin beneath them. She closed her eyes as she felt his arm around her shoulders in a protective embrace.

"I love you Toph." Zuko said in a soft, tired voice.

"I love you too." she answered with a slight yawn.

The next morning Toph had trouble dragging herself from sleep as a knock sounded on the door. The knocking became much more persistent and finally Toph opened her eyes, sitting up. She reached over, but only felt the cool sheets under her fingers, and a note written in brail. The knock came again.

"Just give me a minute!" Toph yelled with an annoyed tone.

She opened the note, and brushed her fingers over it reading it.

'Toph, I would love to be there with you to hold you in my arms while you wake, but again the meetings get in the way of our time together. I won't be back until late tonight, and if you are feeling up to it, I would probably really appreciate one of your massages. I managed to get someone to find me a book on how to write brail, and for a first time writer this is pretty good, it only took me twenty minutes. I must leave you now, I would have woken you to tell you all of this, but I couldn't bring myself to disturb you, you look so beautiful when you sleep. Anyways, I'll see you later tonight love. I wonder if you'll be able to feel my kiss lingering on your lips...  
I love you-Zuko.'

Toph folded the letter once again, and smiled softly to herself. The smile disappeared as the knock came again. Toph pulled the blankets up to cover her bare chest, and placed the note on the table beside the bed.

"Come in Mayana." she said in an annoyed voice.

Mayana walked inside, closing the door quickly behind herself as she saw Toph's predicament. "That's amazing, how'd you know it was me?"

"You're the only one that would dare to wake me. What do you want?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I was just wondering how it went, but from the looks of this, it went well." Mayana said pulling lightly on the front of the blankets. Toph pulled them closer to herself with a scowl.

"Don't worry, it's not like I've never seen you naked." she said. Toph felt her lean forward slightly, and moved away.

"You are really skittish right now." Mayana commented shaking her head.

Toph frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's like you think I'm going to do something to you." she said.

Toph relaxed. "Yeah well, I'm not used to this, I've never had a friend of mine near me without any clothes on." she said.

"I have bathed you Toph; it's not anything I haven't seen before." Mayana answered.

Toph thought over that for a minute. "Yeah, but that's professional, I mean like when you're not taking care of me."

"Ah, right." Mayana said nodding slightly.

She stood, and walked over to a dresser. She pulled out a shirt, and handed it to Toph.

"Here, cover your shame." she said jokingly.

Toph smiled and took the shirt. "Is this Zuko's?" she asked as she pulled it on.

"Yeah." Mayana said. "It looks good on you, too big and over-long though, but that's what happens when you get with a tall guy."

Toph laughed. "He's not that tall."

"He's taller than me." Mayana said.

"Okay, so maybe he's a little taller than I figured, but it's not that bad, I still have some growing to do." Toph said.

Mayana laughed softly sitting on the bed again. "So it went well though?" she asked.

"Yeah, better than usual." Toph answered.

"Really?" Mayana asked interested.

"Well, he just stood there staring at me at first, like he was just surprised, so I walked towards him, and he pulled me into his arms."

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Mayana asked as she paused.

"It's not that, it was the way he kissed me, like fire the way that the feeling spread through my entire body. Just that one kiss drove me completely mad; I couldn't feel or hear anything but him. I felt urges and feelings I've never known, even with him. I just..." she trailed off, coming back to reality. She felt Mayana pull her arm away, and realized that she had been brushing her fingers lightly over her skin.

"Sorry." she said blushing slightly.

"It's okay, you just what?" she asked.

"I just lost myself in him. I wasn't there, at least not the me that everyone knows. I... I couldn't think about anything accept what he was doing to me, and what he was making me feel. He could have done anything he wanted with me, and I wouldn't have stopped him." Toph said softly, brushing her fingers over the mark she knew was just under her ear.

Mayana laughed softly. "He sounds like an incredible lover." she commented.

"Yeah, he is." Toph answered. She climbed out of the bed, and over to the dresser Mayana had got the shirt from. She sifted through the clothes, picking out a few things that she laid on the bed.

"What are you doing Toph?" Mayana asked.

"What colour are these?" Toph asked ignoring Mayana's question.

"Red, everything is red."

"Hn, doesn't he have anything black?"

"Yeah, I would suppose so." Mayana said standing, and going over to the dresser. She took out a pair of black pants, and handed them to Toph.

"Okay, green?"

Mayana looked through the rest of the drawers, finding a green shirt near the back of the bottom drawer.

"Good." Toph said, pulling off the shirt she was already wearing to replace it with the green shirt. She draped the pants over the end of the bed and went into her changing room.

"Do I still have any pants?" she asked. "Black preferably."

Mayana gave her a pair of short black pants and a pair of underwear which Toph pulled on.

"Could you put my chest wrappings on?" Toph asked.

Mayana pulled the shirt over her head, and wrapped the thin stretchy fabric around her chest for her, putting the shirt back on her once she was done. Toph put up her own hair in the way she did before, putting in her old headband.

"There we go..." she said, walking toward her door.

"You're not going out like that are you?"

"Definitely. Do you know where Zuko is?" she asked.

"He would be in the war chamber." Mayana said.

"Okay." Toph said, cracking her knuckles. "Let's go."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to light up his day." she said. She knew that Zuko would be initially mad about what she was about to do, but he would thank her later. Mayana stayed behind as Toph burst through the doors into the war chamber.

**Chapter 5, I am so proud of myself…XD**

**Anyways, please R&R…XD**


	6. Chapter 6

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Soo sorry about the wait. I haven't had internet for the longest time, I just got it back.**

Toph threw open the door to the war-chamber, walking directly down the center of the room. She could hear the generals speaking quietly about her appearance and her uncouth actions. She could feel everything through the floor, could feel the heat of the flames as they burned just a touch hotter.

She stood in the center of the low table the generals sat at, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared blindly up at Zuko. "I have an idea for your little... Campaign." she said with her normal wicked smirk.

Zuko sat forward slightly. "And what might that be?"

She uncrossed her arms, flicking her fingers in an upward motion. A pillar began to form, rising slowly out of the floor. "This is what I think you should do."

She moved forward, using one hand to crush the pillar. "Abolish the rogues! Destroy them! Rule with an iron fist! You're the firelord! MAKE them do what you want."

Zuko raised his eyebrow. Why was it always conflict with her? "And how do you plan to find them?" he questioned.

Toph moved back to the table where the raised stone map was, dragging her fingers over it. "They're here, in the earth kingdom, around Ba Sing Se, and Omashu." she said, circling the places with her fingers. "They've set up camp just on the outskirts of the cities. You can find them there."

Zuko stood, waving his hand and snuffing out the flames. "How do you know this?"

"I'm blind Zuko, my hearing is much better than anyone's. There are two rogues here in the city; they came to get supplies before going back to camp. I may be blind but I'm not deaf."

"Obviously." one of the generals breathed.

"I heard that." Toph said, pointing at him.

His eyes widened, and he looked around at the others.

"Now what you want to do is go in and take them prisoner, there has been too much bloodshed around here as it is." she said. "If you will allow it-" she cut off, sweeping into a deep bow. "I will lead the assault on the rogues around Omashu."

Zuko moved down the steps from his seat, his arms crossed over his chest in thought. He nodded to himself. "So be it." he said. "Welcome to the ranks, General Toph."

Toph smiled and stood straight. "Really?"

Zuko brushed his hand over the side of her face. "Really. If it's what you want."

Toph smirked and stamped her foot, raising a pillar underneath herself. "Now men, who's with me?!"

There were a few murmured words before one of the younger generals stood. "I." he said, raising his hand.

Two others stood, doing the same as him, but that was it. Toph smirked, hopping down off of the pillar before lowering it. There was the sound of rock grating together, and the floor was back to its original state, other than an almost perfect circle cut into the floor. She circled around the three other generals and Zuko noticed that she had a rod of stone in her hand. She smacked one general across the leg, lightly.

"Posture! How am I supposed to believe you can lead if you can't even stand?" she demanded.

"S-Sorry miss..."

"What?"

"Sorry General." he said louder.

"Now this is what we're going to do, you-" she pointed at one with the rod. "Will be coming with me, and you two will be going to Ba Sing Se."

Zuko stood back, a smirk on his face. He didn't know what she was up to, but he really didn't mind, he had been told that she needed to do more earthbending after all. He waved his hand at the others as Toph demanded that they leave. They all stood and left, leaving the three, Toph and Zuko alone.

"Now stand together in a straight line, step forward and tell me your name." Toph said.

The three scrambled to do what she told them to, standing shoulder to shoulder their backs straight and their arms at their sides. They knew that while Toph had just been let into the ranks, she had much more seniority than anyone else.

"The one who's coming with me." she said.

The farthest to the left stepped forward, and Toph recognized him as the first to volunteer to go on the mission.

"General Lue." he said, stepping forward.

Toph moved around him. "Excellent, excellent..." she said absently."Your weapon."

"firebending and Sword, General." he said.

"And how's your hand with your weapon?" she questioned.

"Better than most." he replied.

"Better than Sokka of the water tribes?"

"Not that good I'm afraid."

"Good, at least you're humble, and you know your place... Next!"

The one in the middle stepped forward. "General Cho." he said. He sounded like he was middle aged, but he still sounded strong.

Toph moved up and around him. "Ahh, the one with the bad posture. Your weapon?"

"Firebending, and bladed spear."

"Give it to me." she said, holding out her hand.

He looked over at the wall where their weapons were placed. "It's um...-"

"If you don't have it just go get it." Toph said, crossing her arms.

He nodded and moved quickly over to the wall, grabbing the two handed spear and bringing it back. He placed it in Toph's outstretched hand, watching as she moved back. She found the middle, and balanced it. "Nicely made, a little heavy, but it's perfectly straight and well balanced."

With a quick flourish, she spun the spear around her hand and over her head before placing the tip on the floor. "Very nice." she tossed the weapon in Cho's direction before moving on to the last general.

"Step forward." she said with a sigh.

"General Kaolin." he said, with a nod.

"Your weapon?"

"a bow."

Toph raised an eyebrow and paused. "only a bow?" she questioned.

"Yes General." he replied.

"Are you not a firebender?"

"I am not gifted as some are, General." he replied.

Toph turned away from him and he stepped back in line. She sighed, and kicked up a rock, sending it at the first soldier. He retaliated quickly, dodging out of the way, the next rock was sent at the second soldier. He brought up the spear, and knocked it off course. The next rock had yet to start moving when it was suddenly crashing back down to the floor, a metal arrow piercing through the center of it.

Toph smiled, and clapped slowly. "I changed my mind, Kaolin you're coming with me." she said.

-

Zuko watched Toph train with the generals, or rather, watched her train them. She wasn't the nicest teacher around, and he was surprised that Aang had managed to get through her lessons without bursting into tears. He sat back, content to watch what she was doing, that is until he heard something a slight bit off.

"No!" Toph called out for the umpteenth time, only this time her voice was an octave or so higher than normal. "Use your bending for defence only!"

Zuko finally looked at her and General Lue, the one she was yelling at. He saw that Lue looked like he wished he could disappear while Toph was patting a smouldering sleeve with one calloused hand.

Zuko stood and moved over toward the four generals. He took Toph's hand in his and pulled back her sleeve, seeing that her skin was red and raw, obviously burned to some small extent. She continued on with her lecture as Zuko placed one hand on the scorched area, using a reverse firebending move to take the heat away from the affected area. He brushed his fingers over her skin, noticing just the slightest falter in her words before she sighed.

"That's it for today." she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Come back tomorrow afternoon, and I'll tell you exactly what it is I want you to do."

The three others left Toph and Zuko alone in the courtyard, standing in almost the exact same way as before they left. Zuko leaned down slightly, surprised at how much Toph had grown. She had gotten a few inches taller, and instead of being almost level with his chest she was more toward his shoulder height now. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek before taking her hand in his again.

"You know, I almost missed this side of you." he said.

"Almost?" Toph questioned with a smile.

"Yes, almost." he repeated.

Toph leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him as his hands traveled around her to rest on her back. "Have we gotten any word from our friends yet?" she questioned, closing her eyes as she took in the scent of burnt wood, expensive soap and cologne, as well as the slightest hint of sulphur that always surrounded her love.

Zuko smiled softly. "They should be arriving any time soon, a day, maybe two."

She nodded into his shoulder, taking a deep breath. "That's good."

There was the sound of a door opening and closing before the soft slapping of bare feet alerted them to the presence of someone else. Toph moved back away from Zuko, and turned, a frown creasing her brow as she realized that there were three people there, not just one.

"Mayana, what's wrong?" she questioned.

Mayana inclined her head toward Toph just slightly. "Lexxi's mother has been found." she said. "She is in the infirmary with the best healers we have, she ran into a few of your rogues, and she's in pretty bad condition."

Toph's frown deepened and she shifted her sightless gaze toward the two other people. Mayana seemed to read her mind. "These men are here to talk to you Toph." she said. "they say they are here from Omashu with news of your parents."

Toph's hand tightened a minuscule amount on Zuko's and he in turn laced their fingers together in a reassuring way.

One of the men stepped forward, bowing down onto one knee and holding out a wooden box with a silver inlay. "my lady." he said, staring at the dusty ground. "your mother wishes to give you this. News has reached her ears of your marriage to the firelord and she wants to give you this in way of her acceptance of your matrimony."

Toph didn't reach out, and instead it was Zuko who took the box from the man. Even when his hands were empty, he still kept his position before Toph, and they soon learned why. "Your mother also wishes for me to relay the information that your father has recently passed on and is no longer with us here on this plain."

Zuko caught just the slightest catch in Toph's breathing and looked over at her from the corner of his eye. She nodded curtly. "Stand." she said, and Zuko was surprised that there wasn't a single waver in her voice.

The man did as he was bid, looking down at the earth kingdom 'princess'. "tell my mother..." Toph began. "tell her that I will come and see her soon, and that I will bring my betrothed with me."

He nodded and shuffled back a few steps. "I will be sure that she gets the message." he said.

Once the men were gone Mayana led Toph and Zuko back to their quarters telling them that she would have their dinner ready shortly. Toph was first to enter the room, and she was first to lie on the bed, but it took her quite a while to say anything.

"I-" her voice cracked and she paused, placing her hands over Zuko's which were resting just below her breasts. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Zuko frowned, and tightened his embrace, but Toph didn't cry, instead she seemed to bottle it up for some later time. She seemed to grow stronger rather than let her grief weaken her. She turned in Zuko's embrace, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Zuko..." she said softly. "I want you to take me."

Zuko frowned. "Toph I-"

"Do it princess." she demanded. "And don't be gentle this time."

Zuko's eyes narrowed at the old nickname, and he found himself sometime a short while later with Toph's legs wrapped around him as he thrusted ruthlessly into her.

-

Zuko had been right, it was only a day later when Appa the bison landed in their courtyard and Katara, Suki, Sokka and Aang jumped down off of him.

Katara immediately pulled Toph into a hug, which the younger girl did not like. Katara had just turned fifteen while Toph only had a month left until her fourteenth birthday, and there was a reason Toph wanted the healer to be there at that time.

After a while of catching up and talking with one another Toph managed to get Katara alone to talk with her. They stood in the hall for a few minutes in silence before Toph finally managed to get up the courage to tell the healer what her problem was. "I- this is really hard for me." she said, lowering her head so her bangs hid her face.

Katara took a step forward, placing her hand on the young earthbender's shoulder. "It's okay, I understand." she said in her usual soft, motherly tone. "It must be hard for you."

Toph frowned. "Yeah, listen... I've been thinking. In the earth kingdom it's normal to be married at a young age, and to have children at a young age. Young girls are usually put into arranged marriages with men who are older and more mature. One of my friends, the few that I used to have was married when she was thirteen, to a man who was nearly thirty eight-"

"Toph, I don't really-" Katara began.

Toph sighed. "Just a minute, I'm getting to it." she said, cutting off the waterbender. "as I was saying. I know from that, that this marriage between Zuko and I isn't wrong in any way, to anyone, it's normal. I was just wondering... When do women in your tribe have their children?"

"Well, we're usually married once we receive our gift of blood from Tui. Children aren't usually conceived until after we're fourteen." Katara replied. "Why?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by gift of blood." Toph said.

"Well... Usually each month you'll bleed... Down there, and that tells you when you're ready to have children." Katara replied.

Toph nodded. "I've already started that, it happened last year just after the honeymoon."

Katara looked away, toward the wall, a slight blush coloring her face. "So what exactly is this all about?" she questioned.

"I was just curious." Toph replied, turning and beginning to pad her way back toward the sitting room with the others. "Thanks sugarqueen."

-

Toph couldn't sleep, she could hear the snoring from Sokka and Suki's room all the way from the end of the hall, and it was beginning to annoy her. She wasn't used to loud noise at night since Zuko was a quiet sleeper, and she didn't know how Suki could stand it. She sat up, stretching slightly before flipping back the blankets and hopping out of bed. She reached out and took her robe from the chair that sat at the desk in the corner of the room.

The door opened with just the slightest creak, and she left the room, wandering down the hall past Snoozes' room and around the corner toward the back exit of the palace. She found the door without a problem, brushing her fingers over the cold metal knob before her grip tightened and she opened the wooden panel with a sigh. The wind from outside entered blowing back her hair and robe with a soft breath. She smiled and stepped out into the garden, walking toward the pool and benches in the center. She paused as she crossed the bridge, flicking a stone from the cold railing into the water. She felt it hit, and for a moment it was floating before it struck the bottom of the creek, the impact creating a ripple of sonic imagery.

With a soft laugh, she spun in a few circles, before sliding down to the bottom of the slightly inclined bridge. It only took a moment to reach the benches, and another moment to sit on the smooth stone surface before she was there, quietly listening to the sounds of the night.

There was the sound of a door opening softly before Zuko padded across the bridge in nothing but a light pair of sleeping pants. He paused when he saw Toph sitting alone on the bench, her robe opened on one side baring her scantly covered right breast, her bare stomach, and smooth thigh. He smiled to himself before moving over to her, sitting next to her, wrapping one arm around her when she leaned against him.

-

"I understand rage, but rage can get you killed, it can throw you off your focus, and you need to focus." Toph said, turning her back on the three generals. "You all have to understand that if you lose your focus and get yourself killed, you put everyone... I repeat, everyone in danger."

Kaolin frowned, before shifting his weight and relaxing slightly. Toph's attention was drawn to him momentarily before she noticed that someone else was coming. She turned expectantly as Mayana rounded the corner, her long brown hair untied from it's usual bun to frame her plain, and yet still pretty face. She looked tired, like she hadn't slept in a long time.

"Toph, Mikena wishes to speak with you." she said, her voice sounding tired as well.

"Mikena?" Toph questioned.

"Lexxi's mother."

Toph nodded before waving her hand to dismiss the generals. "We'll continue this another time, I have important matters to attend to." she said.

She followed Mayana down the steps and out the front gate of the palace toward Lexxi's house. The girl was still staying in the palace, and hopefully she could go home soon. Toph didn't 'see' much of her around the palace, and yet she was always there. She could always be heard running through the halls, knocking things over, throwing books, vases, and lamps. Zuko was too busy to discipline her, and besides neither he nor Toph even knew where to start. Mayana had tried, but had failed somehow. She hardly had any time to herself while she had to look after Toph and the little demon that called herself a girl.

Toph stopped when she noticed that Mayana had walked up to a door. She waited while her keeper knocked and spoke quietly to one of the doctors before following her through the unfortunately wooden house. There were strange sounds, and another door was opened before Toph was hit with the scent of singed flesh. There were times when she wished she could see, and times like that moment where she was glad that she was blind.

The meeting with Mikena went as well as it could, and Toph was relieved when the doctors told her that Lexxi could return home within the month. "What about the smell in the room?" she questioned.

"That was from the bandages I changed not a few minutes before you arrived. Her wounds are healing well, and surprisingly fast." the doctor replied.

-Back at the palace-

Toph sighed and leaned against Zuko as they sat before the hearth of the fireplace. "you know, this is the first time that I hope that we'll really be together forever. I'll never let you go again." Zuko said.

"I know that I'll love you forever." Toph replied, stretching.

Zuko smiled, his arm tightening around her waist just slightly. "Thanks." he replied.

Toph smiled as well, leaning slightly against Zuko's shoulder. "Not a problem." she said, resting her forehead in the crook of his neck. There was a slight sound and Toph sat up to listen to the soft voices at the door.

"...It's when you see... Her. It's no longer just the will of the spirits keeping you on the earth, it's her, just her."

Toph recognized Sokka's voice and frowned. Was he really that in love with Suki? She knew that Zuko couldn't hear what was being said out in the hallway, since his hearing wasn't as good as hers, since hers was heightened.

"I think I always loved her, but somehow, I just knew it wasn't destined to be. I've moved on, that much is obvious, but still, I wonder if maybe I could have had her love me, be as dedicated to me as she is to him. I wonder what would happen if maybe I wasn't too late."

Toph frowned. Who was Sokka talking about? She heard footsteps and mentally shrugged it off. It didn't really matter anyways.

"Toph?"

She shifted. "Yes?"

Zuko reached up and took her hands in his. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." she replied. "Just a little tired I suppose."

Zuko unwrapped her arms from his shoulders and stood. "I wonder if maybe you've got something on your mind." he said.

"No- well... Yes I suppose."

"What has you so sombre?" Zuko questioned, taking her hand to pull her to her feet.

She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. "If you had never fallen for me, you'd be with Mai right?"

He was silent for a moment. "Yes, I would be." he replied.

"Well, if I hadn't fallen for you, who do you think I'd be with?" she questioned.

Zuko frowned. "Sokka." he replied without missing a beat.

"What makes you say that?"

He laughed. "You must think that I'm stupid to not see that you loved him... That you still love him." his voice grew softer at the end. "I wonder if you hadn't felt the same about me at one point in the beginning."

"What do you mean?"

"I know how it is to love two people and have to choose one over the other. I love you more than anything, but I loved Mai at one point as well. When I confessed my love for you, you were still in love with Sokka. I only wondered if maybe it took you longer to love me than it took for me to love you." he explained.

"I do love you Zuko, I really do, but-" she cut off for a moment. "I wonder if maybe there's something more."

He pushed her back gently by the shoulders, looking over her, trying to decipher her expression. "More? Name it and you'll have it."

"That's it." Toph said, her voice still soft. "You don't pose a challenge. You give me what I want the moment I want it. You try to buy my love with material possessions when all I want is you."

Zuko frowned. "A challenge? You want it to be more of a challenge to get things?"

"No, I want you to challenge me. I want to have something to look forward to. You know that I like fights." Toph replied with a smile.

Zuko thought for a moment. "We'll see about that." he said. "As for this moment, you should be getting to bed."

"We'll see about that?" Toph questioned, crossing her arms. "I demand you give me what I want this very moment! As for telling me to go to bed, I'm not a little girl, I'll do as I please."

Zuko made a grab for her, his hand wrapping around her wrist and pulling her forward. He tightened his grip as she struggled, cupping her chin with his free hand. His thumb brushed over her lip as he leaned down so he was at her height before speaking. "Don't make me punish you for disobeying me Toph." he said softly.

She pulled her face away from him and twisted her arm, wrenching it from his grasp, only to have him grab her other wrist.

"Toph." his voice held a warning.

She freed herself again, and this time he took both of her arms, raising them above her head.

"You have one more chance before you must be disciplined." Zuko said.

Toph pushed him back, pulling her arms from his grasp before running. She ran out the door and down the hallway toward their room, feeling and hearing the steps behind her. She wasn't planning on being caught, but she'd forgotten just how fast Zuko could run. He grabbed her around the waist and tossed her none too gently into the wall. She pushed at him, slapping at his hands as he made another grab for her. He managed to capture the flailing limbs and pinned them against the wall, his hands pressing into her flesh just below her elbows on her forearms.

She struggled, trying to pull free, but her struggles were stopped when he pressed his lips against hers. He wasn't gentle like he usually was, and she could feel her bottom teeth cutting into her lip, bruising it badly. She let out a gasp as he bit into her bottom lip, being careful not to hurt her too much. She opened her mouth and his tongue invaded, sweeping over hers demanding that she respond.

They were in one of the servant's hallways, one that was used very seldom after nightfall. It was where the sheets, blankets, towels and the like were stored.

One of his hands moved down to hook behind Toph's knee, picking her up from the floor with it. She let out a soft, confused sound as he pushed her dress up out of the way. Luckily it was a rather plain one, white with gold trim and was light, so it shifted and bunched between them easily. He stepped forward, pressing her against the wall more firmly as he let go of her other arm and pulled his mouth away.

"Zuko?" she gasped. "What-"

She was cut off as he reached down under her, his fingers brushing over her underclothes. She was wearing simple little things that Mayana called panties rather than her usual short pants. He held her against the wall with his body as he pulled his length from his pants, stroking himself to life fully.

"We're in a hallway!" Toph hissed, knowing what he was doing now. "Can't it wait?"

Zuko placed a hand over her mouth, successfully silencing her. "You're the one who wanted more, a challenge you said. I know it's a challenge for you to listen to what others tell you to do. So do as I say."

She smiled behind his hand, tilting her head back into the wall as the head of his erection brushed against her. He reached down once more, pushing the panties out of the way and using his fingers to spread her open before pushing up and into her. She let out a gasp, then a cry at the pleasurable feeling. He waited only a moment to get a better grip on her before he began thrusting. She let out another cry, arching her back into him.

He rested his head on her shoulder, and she could hear each breath, feel it blow over her skin. She didn't miss how it went from smooth to being irregular and ragged within a matter of minutes, as did hers. It took a few minutes, but the both of them came.

Toph was shaking when Zuko let her down. He searched around a bit and found a towel to clean up with before carrying her back to their room. He laid her on the bed and smiled down at her. "I'm sure you're tired now, so go to sleep." he said as he got in next to her.

She smiled and accepted his warm embrace. "Okay, but not because you told me to." she commented before succumbing to sleep.

-

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you?!" Toph screamed.

Lue shrunk back from her. "I'm s-sorry, it's how I was trained." he said.

"Well you're being trained differently now. Get it into your head! Firebending is for defence only!"

She stopped as Zuko stepped up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. He looked at Lue, regarding him closely. "I'll have to warn you now-" he started softly. "If you burn her again, I'm going to have to do something about it, and you don't want that to happen do you?"

Lue shook his head quickly. "No, no sir." he said.

"Good." Zuko said. He took hold of Toph's arm, looking over the back and palm of her hand. It was burned, but no too badly. He placed his hands around hers and took away the heat, smiling as she relaxed. "Do you mind if I show them a thing or two love?" he questioned.

"Go ahead." She said. "Maybe you'll have better luck with them."

He smirked and stepped to the side as she walked over to a bench to sit down for a minute. He untied his robe from around his shoulders and let it drop to the ground. "Follow me." he said.

The generals did as they were told, seemingly happy to learn from the firelord himself.

"As you'll notice Kaolin-" Zuko said. "These movements are not only for benders, but also for non-benders. They can be used for defence, or offence, blocking or striking. Just because you're not a bender doesn't mean that you can't move like one."

Kaolin nodded and continued to follow Zuko's movements, nearly mirroring him.

"We'll start with defensive moves." Zuko said, looking pointedly at Lue.

He shifted his gaze to Cho. "You, be on offence."

"T-to you?"

Zuko smirked as he heard Toph laugh. "Yes to me. The only way to show you proper defence is to have someone bend at you." he commented.

Cho stepped forward, sending forth a blast of flame. Without missing a beat, Zuko extinguished it before it even got to him. "You'll need to do better than that." he said. "Challenge me."

Cho did a few steps and Zuko was almost surprised at the strength of the blow that came his way. He brought up his arms and tilted his head down as he was pushed back slightly.

Toph sat up, worried for a moment. Zuko spun in a circle, his arms out to the sides before bringing them back up to his chest quickly, palms out. The flames followed his movements before going out in front of him.

"Another." he said.

A fireball flew his way and he stepped to the side, one hand skimming the top of it, while the other pushed behind it. It went right by him, its course changes by him. In a sideways sweeping motion he made it explode mid-flight.

"Again!"

A wall of flames erected all around him, closing in rapidly. He dropped down into a crouch, folding his arms over his chest, using the flames as a force field around himself. He wasn't touched by them. When the flames eventually dissipated, he stood slowly, smoke and steam rolling off of him.

The three generals stood, shocked. None of them had ever seen anyone, not even another firebender go through that without a single burn or scratch. Zuko raised his hand, and flames began to curl around his fingers. "Fire is our element, you must learn to use it to your leisure. Whether you're lighting a lamp, or fighting in battle. Learn the strengths of it, but also know the weaknesses. Use these weaknesses, don't try to correct them, but rather turn them, twist them into strength. Flames are not just hot, they aren't created just by someone or something else. They come from inside, they are what makes me slightly arrogant, they're what makes you unsure, and you unwilling. They are our emotions, so use them as such."

He raised his other hand and the flames began to crawl up that one as well. "We aren't just benders, I am not just a bender, I am strength. Non-benders use their weapons as extensions of themselves benders use their elements. You must learn to exploit the weaknesses of the elements and use them to your advantage. Earth is heavy, water is viscous, air is weightless and fire is hungry, you'll soon learn what I mean." with that he turned to walk away. "Oh, and Lue-"

He cut off and sent a blast of flame at the other bender, watching as he blocked it. "Good job." he finished with a smile.

Lue looked surprised at the praise, but didn't say anything.

"You're dismissed. Think over what he said, and tell us tomorrow what you think he means." Toph said.

Zuko shook his head with a smile. "I don't think they really understood."

"Did you even know what you were saying?"

"Of course I did, why? Didn't you understand?"

"I did." Toph replied. "Earth is heavy, it falls at a more rapid pace than the other elements, and is harder to control. Water is viscous, with the right amount of force it can be broken, even eluding it for long periods of time can make it lose form and shape thus rendering it useless in some cases. Air is weightless, if you were to find cover that was strong enough to stand in the wind the air would only move over and around it, most of the time nothing would get through. And fire is hungry, it burns itself out quickly by using up all of the fuel sources around it, once there's no fuel there's no fire."

Zuko smiled. "And I thought you were still just a little girl."

"That would make you a sicko." Toph pointed out.

Zuko shook his head. "No my love, that would make you a woman." he took her hand in his pulling her closer.

She smiled and stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "And that would make you one lucky man." she breathed.

"Hmn, definitely." he leaned down slightly farther and placed a soft kiss against her lips, sucking on her bottom lip slightly before sliding his tongue into her mouth.

Neither one of them noticed the lone person standing on the balcony above, leaning over the railing as he watched them. "Too little too late." he said before turning away and walking into the palace.

**Chapter Six up and whatever… again sorry about the wait, I didn't forget it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Chapter Seven**

Sokka wandered around the palace alone. He stopped for a moment and brushed his hand over one of the towering stone walls. She would be happier here. He thought she would anyways.

He shook his head to clear it before continuing on. He found a double wide doorway and exited the palace onto a balcony. He looked down into the garden seeing Toph, Zuko and three other people there. He watched as Toph sent the other three away before she was talking to Zuko. He didn't hear anything, but he did see how happy she was, he saw how much she loved Zuko. He watched as they kissed before turning away. "Too little too late." he said softly. "I was always too late. I was never there when she needed me, so she turned to him."

He nodded as if to prove a point before continuing his solitary wanderings. A girl no more than ten ran at him, closely followed by a servant that he recognized as Mayana.

"Lexxi!" she called out. "Put that down! That's Zuko's you can't damage it!"

Sokka stepped to the side waiting until the girl got close before reaching out and grabbing onto her arm, pulling her as gently as he could to a stop. "You'd best give that back now." he said.

Lexxi stuck her tongue out at him, letting out a screech as Mayana took her other arm. She wrenched her arm from his grip and threw whatever she had up into the air.

Mayana let out a gasp, reaching out for it as if she could pluck it from the air. Sokka lunged backward and caught it easily, looking over it. It was a small bottle full of some kind of liquid. It looked almost like medication.

Mayana dragged Lexxi over with her as she reached out for the bottle, taking it from Sokka gently. "Thank you." she said.

"Does she do this often?" he questioned.

"Every day."

"Don't you discipline her?"

"I've tried, nothing works." Mayana replied.

At that Lexxi lashed out at a small table, knocking it and the expensive looking vase on it over. The vase shattered across the floor and before she knew what was happening Sokka was kneeling and she was laid over his knee, taking the first spanking she had ever gotten in her life.

She screamed and writhed, but when that didn't work she stopped and just hung limply over the floor. After ten smacks, he pushed her up and stood her on her feet, fixing her dress for her. "Don't do anything like that again, or I will come back to give you another spanking with twenty whacks instead of ten."

Her eyes got wide as saucers and she hugged herself. "I'm sorry." she said softly, close to tears.

Sokka nodded. "Go play then, but don't-I repeat do not- get into any more trouble."

She nodded vigorously and ran off in the opposite direction, toward the library if he was correct. He stood and looked over at Mayana.

"I think you just fixed our problem, although I do sometimes wonder what happened to the sweet little girl that came here." she said.

"You started to spoil her." he replied. "Do you mind me asking whats in the bottle?"

Mayana shook her head. "It's not my place to tell you." she said. "You would have to ask Zuko yourself."

"So I can assume it's not cologne then." Sokka commented.

Mayana shook her head before turning and leaving, probably to put the bottle back wherever Lexxi had gotten it. Sokka sighed, there was the highlight of his day. He shook his head and started off for something else to do, maybe he'd go to the kitchen for something to eat.

-

Toph headed back to her room alone, knowing that Zuko had things to do. She entered the room and immediately noticed that something was amiss. She went over to Zuko's dresser and felt around for a moment noticing that the crystal bottle was gone. She used her bending to feel around on the floor, but it wasn't there either. She was going to summon Mayana with the bell cord, but the door opened when she reached out for it.

Mayana walked in, stopping short as she saw Toph.

"Where's the bottle that was on the dresser?" she questioned.

"Lexxi took it." Mayana replied. "It's right here."

Toph moved forward taking it from her. "She didn't spill any of it did she?"

"No, Sokka helped me get it back from her."

"You didn't tell him what it is did you?" She questioned.

"No, he asked but I told him I couldn't tell him, and that he should ask Zuko."

"Good." Toph said, going over to the dresser and replacing the bottle where it was supposed to be. "Would you please go and find Katara and have her come here please?"

"Yes miss." Mayana replied.

Toph went to sit on the bed as she left, sitting up straight so she could breathe properly with the corset that Mayana insisted she wear. She only had to wait a few minutes for a knock to come on the door.

"Come in." she said softly.

The door opened and Katara stepped in, closing it quietly behind herself. "Is there something wrong Toph?" she questioned as she moved over to her.

"I was just wondering about something." she said as Katara sat next to her.

"What's that?"

"Well I was just wondering if there was any way to well..." she trailed off for a moment. "I wanted to know if there was some way to not feel pain the morning after..."

Katara blinked before realizing what she was saying. "Oh..." she said. "Well there's herbs that you can take that can stop your muscles from aching."

Toph nodded. "Where can I get them?"

"I brought some with me." she replied. "I can give some to you. Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"Okay."

"How bad is the pain?"

"It depends, sometimes it's just subtle, and other times it's hard to even breathe." she replied.

"Can you lay back for a moment please?"

Toph did, stiffly laying on the bed as Katara shifted closer. "So does it come through here, or here?" The healer questioned, running her fingers up the center of Toph's lower stomach, then across.

"Usually it's through here." Toph said, gesturing to a place the shape of a V that trailed up almost to her navel.

Katara frowned. That would mean...- "Toph, do you mind me asking how you..." she cut herself off.

Toph sat up again. "I'm usually underneath." she replied.

Katara nodded. "And is that comfortable for you?"

"Yes." Toph replied. "I would tell him if I wasn't comfortable."

Katara laughed. "I'm sure you would, if you want I can tell you a bit of a secret to make it so the pain isn't quite so intense."

Toph tilted her head. "Okay."

"When you're- making love, instead of relaxing, tilt your hips up, it will relieve some of the pressure." Katara said.

Toph smirked. "I'll definitely try that then." she commented. Her smile faded after a moment. "I have another question."

"Okay, ask away." Katara said, actually glad that the younger girl was opening up to her for once.

"Is it normal to not like being... Touched, up here?" Toph questioned, gesturing at her almost ample breasts.

"I suppose, but why wouldn't you like it?"

Toph blushed, turning away. "Well... It hurts." she said.

"Hurts how?"

"Like an almost raw feeling, like I'm too sensitive."

Katara thought for a moment before it dawned on her. "That's only because you're still growing and developing, it's normal to have a slight uncomfortable or even painful feeling there. Just ask Zuko if he could be a little more gentle, or if the pain is really bad, to avoid the spot completely."

Toph nodded. "Thanks." she said.

"No problem." Katara replied. "You know that you can always ask me anything."

"I know." Toph replied with a smile. She looked up at the door and placed her foot on the ground as Katara turned to see what she heard. "Zuko's coming."

Katara turned to look at her again and saw how her expression, her entire face really, lit up even at the thought of being with him again. "Well then, I'll leave you alone." she said. "I'll see you later."

Toph waved absently as she left, passing Zuko in the hallway.

"Is Toph in there?" he questioned.

"Yes, we just finished having a bit of girltalk." Katara said with a smile. "She knows you're coming."

"She always knows when I'm on my way." Zuko replied.

Katara shook her head and continued on, turning the corner and disappearing down the hall. Zuko continued on to his room, opening the door quietly. He saw Toph sitting in the center of the bed, her fingers picking absently at the covers as she waited for him. He closed the door and covered the distance between them quickly, sitting next to her. He placed a kiss on her lips.

"I hear that you've been talking to Katara." he said.

Toph nodded. "I just had some stuff I needed to ask her." she replied.

"Did she have the answers you wanted?"

"Yes, that and more." she said with a laugh. "You know, she's not so bad when she's not being bossy."

Zuko smiled. "I know."

-

Toph stood in the center of the gardens, the three generals before her. Zuko, Katara and Mayana sat on a bench not too far away, watching.

She paced back and forth for a moment. "Just because fire is light, lighter than air almost, doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a proper stance to keep your center of gravity." She said. "Lue, show the beginning stance for firebending." she said.

He did as he was told and she walked over to him. With one hand she pushed against his shoulder causing him to stumble to the side. "You see? Your center of gravity isn't low enough. Try this pose instead."

She shifted into a beginning earthbending stance, her knees bent, her body low while her arms and hands assumed the traditional firebending position.

Zuko tilted his head, not sure if it would work. He stood and pulled off his firelord robe, draping it over the bench. He went over to Toph, standing next to her before copying her pose. It was strange, but he found that he was more balanced, and slightly heavier somehow. He shifted back into a normal pose, surprised as Toph pushed on the back of his shoulder, almost sending him sprawling. He heaved a sigh and took up her stance again. She pushed on him once more and he found that if he braced his weight with his opposite leg, he could push back against her and stay standing.

She stepped back. "Try firebending." she said.

He did, and it worked. He smiled as he did two or three backflips and landed, his body low and his hands at the ready. Toph nodded with a smile. "Good." she said. "That's all you have to do."

She stood back as the others tried to firebend with a pose more suitable for an earthbender. She tiled her head as Zuko leaned down to talk to her.

She put up her hand. "Stop!" everyone froze. "Katara, come here please." she said.

Katara stood obidently and moved over to her. "Yes?"

"I want you to show them how to do a waterwhip, with fire." she said.

"I don't think that's possible." Katara said softly.

Zuko stood up straight, bringing out one hand while the other moved in toward his chest. With a flourish, he flicked his arm to the side and with a whip-crack a long, thin line of fire was created. The others stared at him in amazement. Toph just stood with her arms crossed over her chest and an 'I told you so' look on her face. "Show them Katara, Zuko can't do it, not in his condition."

Katara frowned, looking over at the firelord to see him with one arm wrapped around his middle just below his ribs. His breaths came in short bursts and for a moment she was worried that maybe he had hurt himself. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her brother show up, looking as concerned as she did. Toph took hold of Zuko's arm, draping it over her shoulders to help him over to the bench. She had hoped for a while that no one would find out, but that hope had been futile. She should have known that he would overdo it.

"Mayana!" she said sharply as Zuko sat down. "Go and get the bottle on the dresser." she said.

Mayana hurried away, coming back not even two minutes later holding the small crystal bottle. She gave it to Toph who opened it. Everyone was surprised as she made Zuko tilt his head back, forcing his eyes open and putting two drops in each. It took a moment for it to take effect but as soon as it did it began to burn.

Zuko leaned forward, closing his eyes and placing the heels of his hands against them. Toph sat close to him, not touching him and soon everyone found out why.

It started slow, and then progressed faster until finally it seemed like the pain was going to tear him apart. Suddenly, just like that, it stopped. Toph leaned in close to him, sensing that his heartbeat was slowing. She placed a hand on his shoulder and said something very softly to which he nodded, standing and pulling on his robe again, before sitting.

"You're sure you're okay?" Toph questioned.

"Yes, I'm sure." he said.

"Toph?" Katara questioned. "What's wrong?"

Toph sighed and stood, crossing her arms over her chest. "His center of chi was damaged when he was hit with the lightning that Azula bent at him. If he firebends too much, or too often the chi begins to block itself causing unimaginable pain. The doctors tell us it's irreversible."

Katara frowned. "I think I know who can help though." she said.

Zuko looked up, something like hope shining in his eyes. Toph's had much the same expression. "Who?"

-

"So wait, you want me to do what?"

"We want you to try to repair the center of chi."

"Well, okay, but I'm not sure if it will work."

Zuko sat back against a high backed chair, closing his eyes as Aang moved in on him. Aang pressed one hand against Zuko's stomach just below his ribs, while the other pressed against his forehead. It took a moment, but Aang entered the Avatar state, calling upon centuries of knowledge. Another moment and bluish white light blinded them all.

When it was all over, everyone stared at the two of them. Zuko had sat up completely, leaning over the arm of the chair, looking like he was about to be sick while Aang had collapsed to his knees next to him. He let out a breathy laugh. "It worked." he said.

At that moment Zuko coughed and everyone, including Aang turned away, hoping that he wouldn't throw up. Toph moved over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He reached up, grasping her hand in his while he tried to catch his breath.

"How do you feel?" she questioned.

"I've definitely been better." he breathed. He coughed again and Toph felt him tense. She grimaced at the feeling, but didn't pull away.

No one said anything else, no one except Mayana moved at all. She placed a pail next to him, just in case and moved away. Toph stood, completely calm and collected waiting. Sokka couldn't help but see how determined she was to be there for him. He stood up a bit straighter, and for once instead of wishing that it was him that she was so devoted to, he felt happiness for Zuko who deserved her much more than he ever would. Finally Zuko sat up, leaning back into the chair with a soft breath. Everyone relaxed knowing the worst was passed.

"You said it worked?" he questioned.

Aang nodded. "I felt the strings reattach, you're as well as you were before." he said.

Zuko nodded. "Thank you." he said softly.

Toph smiled and took his arm, pulling him to his feet. She let him lean on her as she led him from the room and down the hall to their bedroom, letting him collapse on the bed when they got there. It was after supper, they had both eaten well, so she figured that it was okay for an early night. She went and closed the door before slipping on a nightgown, and crawling into bed next to him. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, before closing her eyes to drift into sleep.

-

It was later that night that she was awoken by him. She turned to face him, surprised when a kiss was pressed to her lips. He moved his mouth down the side of her neck, pulling her in closer to him.

"Zuko?"

He made a soft sound, hooking his hand behind her leg to bring it up over his hip. She consented for some reason, and allowed him to continue. His hand slid up her stomach to gently cup one of her breasts and she was relieved when she didn't feel the normal pain that came with being touched there.

It didn't take long until they were both needing the other more than anything.

-

"How do you love me?" Toph questioned the next day as they sat in the garden waiting for the generals to show up.

"I love you more than anything." Zuko replied.

Toph smiled. "Anything?"

"If I had to choose between loving you and living, I would spend my last day with you." he said. "I wouldn't leave your side for a moment."

She smiled again, laying her head on his shoulder for a few minutes. When she felt the recognizable lumbering footsteps of Cho followed by the flatfooted steps of Lue and the ever light and alert steps of Kaolin she smirked.

"Time to play Zuko, excuse me." she said.

He let her go, crossing his arms to watch what she was doing. She moved out into the center of the path, stepping up a pillar beneath herself.

"Ambush!" she cried.

Cho and Lue seemed confused but Kaolin reacted quickly, dodging off of the path onto another. The other two followed, still confused. He stood quickly and drew an arrow, one with a soft tip that caused absolute minimal impact damage and shot it straight at Toph. It caught her in the thigh and she went down, a smirk on her face before she slammed her hands against the pillar, causing the ground around them to churn and wave almost like they were standing on water. Kaolin dropped lower, shoving Lue to the side with a signal for him to go left. Cho went right. He turned and shot another arrow, actually surprised when she let this one hit her as well, in the shoulder. Because the tips of the arrows left a smear of red paint he knew where he got her, but it also made it hard to see where he should aim for next.

She used her right hand and reached out to the left where Lue lunged at her, a practice sword drawn, aimed for the kill. The blade hit her palm which was encrusted with rock to keep her safe. She grabbed the blade, but Lue pulled it back too fast for her to bend it. She felt the edges of it grate down until they were flat though, but that really didn't matter.

On her other side, Cho leapt out with a practice spear aimed. She leaned back slightly, feeling the blade just brush against her bangs. The sword was swung again and using the help of her bending, she flipped up and over backwards, landing easily on her feet. Cho and Lue both stood in front of her, their weapons at the ready. She was so focused on them that she didn't even hear the soft whistle of an arrow as it flew through the air. It hit her right dead center in the chest, splattering red paint all over her. She stumbled back a step, actually surprised.

She looked up after a moment. "Now think, was that teamwork? Did you all do what you could to take me out?"

Kaolin stood, putting his bow back. He didn't even have to reply, Toph already knew that he had. He'd taken the lead and managed to get in the killing shot. The other two both replied with yes, but Toph knew that the only one who had really gone out of his way was Kaolin.

She turned away from them and walked out to the center of the garden square, standing silently. "Kaolin." she said.

He stepped forward. "Yes General?"

"I want you to stay after the others leave, I have something I want you to do."

He nodded. "Yes General."

-

It wasn't a long training session, and when Cho and Lue left, Toph stayed behind with Kaolin.

"It means a lot to me that you're actually trying." she said, turning her back on him. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome General." he replied.

She nodded. "Because you aren't a bender, I had some people scour the country to find two people I met a while ago. A girl by the name of Smellerbee and a boy by the name of Longshot. The boy is one of the best archers this world has seen, and while he was injured in an accident, he can still shoot as well as he ever could. He doesn't talk, so you'll need Smellerbee there so she can tell you what he's saying. You will be training with them from now on, under my supervision of course." she said.

Kaolin seemed at a loss for words at first before he dropped to his knees and bowed low to the floor. "Thank you." he said. "I have heard of Longshot, it is an honor to have him teach me."

Toph turned and crossed her arms. "Stand up." she said. "This isn't some kind of court."

Kaolin stood. "Thank you again."

She nodded. "You will still be coming to my training sessions, but once that's over, you will train with them for one hour." With that she turned and left.

-

Smellerbee clutched Longshot's hand in hers tightly, looking around at the huge palace she was in. "We're in the firelord's home." she said again as if she couldn't believe it.

Longshot nodded, reaching over with his opposite hand to squeeze her shoulder gently. She let out a breath. "You're right, we aren't at war anymore, I should calm down."

He smiled slightly and led her further into the hallway where they were met by Mayana. "Welcome." she said warmly. "Lady Toph and Firelord Zuko are expecting you."

They followed her up a flight of stairs to a sitting room. "Is there anything I can get you? Something to drink or eat maybe?"

Smellerbee looked at Longshot who shook his head. "No, we're fine thanks." she said.

"Very well, they are waiting for you inside." Mayana said with a smile before she turned and left.

They turned to the extravagant wooden door and walked inside, seeing Zuko sitting in a chair by the fire with Toph standing at his side, speaking to him softly. He stood when he saw them and a flash of recognition passed through his eyes. "Um, welcome, please sit."

The two of them stared at him for a moment before doing as he suggested, sitting together on a small couch near the hearth.

"You've been summoned here to help us with a cause." Toph said, pulling Zuko back down into the chair.

"What cause?" Bee questioned.

"There is a band of rebel former firenation soldiers terrorizing the earth kingdom and the firenation alike. We need your help to take them out." Toph said.

Smellerbee's hand tightened on Longshot's as a tremor of excitement went through her. She looked at Longshot out of the corner of her eye, seeing a spark flare to life in his eyes. He wanted to help as well. "What's the catch?" she questioned.

Toph smiled. "No catch, I just need your help, Longshot's to be precise. There is an archer among my men who needs training. He's good, but not nearly as good as you."

Bee looked over at Longshot to get his reply. His brown eyes rose to meet hers and she knew the answer. "He can't." she said. "He can't shoot anymore."

Toph smiled again. "As it happens, we have a healer here who can repair any injury no matter how old. I believe you know her rather well."

She reached out and pulled a cord that the other two assumed rang a bell somewhere and not a minute later Mayana entered the room with Katara close behind her. Smellerbee shot to her feet. "You!"

Katara looked away. "I'm sorry-" she was cut off as the small girl launched herself at her.

"For what? You gave the two of us a new life." Bee said, backing away when Longshot pulled on her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, nodding in agreement. "You helped us more than anyone else." Bee continued.

Katara blushed. "I heard that there's something else I can do to help you."

Longshot nodded and Smellerbee stepped to the side. "It's his shoulder, it was badly injured on the day when Jet died, he can hardly use it now, neither one of us knows what could be wrong. He should be able to move it."

She reached out and hooked her fingers under the hem of his shirt which to anyone else would seem strange until they realized that he couldn't even remove his shirt because of how debilitating the injury had been. She helped him pull the shirt up and over his head, folding it over her arm as Katara stepped forward.

"Tui and La..." she breathed.

She reached out, pausing for a moment to look at Longshot who nodded. She brushed her fingers over his shoulder, or a place where a shoulder had been at one point. Now it was just a swathe of ragged scars and badly healed flesh. She pressed at a few points, seeing that the bone was in it's proper place. The cartilage however had thickened which explained the limited motion. She moved around behind him, looking at his shoulder blade which also seemed to be damaged. She let out a breath.

"It's going to be painful, but it is fixable." she said.

Smellerbee smiled widely and tossed her arms around Longshot's neck. His good arm encircled her waist, lifting her up almost right off of the floor. He looked down a her, raising one eyebrow. She looked over at Katara.

"What about the muscle, when it's repaired will it be as strong as it was, or will he have to build it up again?"

"It will be as it is now. There's a lot of strength in that arm, as much as the other one even, it's just unusable. He hasn't lost any muscle tone in that arm at all." Katara replied.

"When can we start the healing process?" Toph asked with a clap of her hands.

"Now if he wants." Katara said.

Longshot was in the process of having Bee put his shirt back on so all he could do was nod before she pulled him down and started fretting over him. He rolled his eyes with a sigh and Bee began explaining what he couldn't.

"He's annoyed because ever since he got hurt I've insisted on caring for him. I haven't left him since that day."

He crossed his arms and stood up straight, raising his eyebrow again with a smirk.

"Oh right, and we're married and expecting our first child."

He rolled his eyes again and she laughed as everyone went quiet, surprised. "I'm kidding, we're not married."

He tapped the underside of her chin with the pads of his first two fingers, a seemingly clear way of telling her to stop playing around. She wrapped her arms around him. "Okay, so we are married, but I'm not pregnant."

Toph laughed. "Congratulations." she said. "I hope that Oma and Shu will bless you both with a happy marriage." she said.

Zuko looked up at her. "As well as Agni and Kai." he said softly.

Longshot nodded at them both.

-

It was later when Toph heard something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded like someone was in pain. She followed the sound to the 'medical room' also known as the place the doctors went to look over patients that lived in the palace. She stood in the doorway, hearing Bee and Katara talking softly. Another person, who she assumed was Longshot let out a breath.

Katara stood over him, concentration on her face as she tried to heal his shoulder. It was much harder to do than she had first thought. The old wound was stubborn, there was an inflexibility in it that stopped it from reforming itself. She smiled slightly after a moment as one of the scars began to fade and finally disappear followed by another. When the scars were gone she stopped to let him breathe. It seemed to be really painful. Perhaps even more than she had first thought.

Bee sat by him, her head resting on his stomach and her hands both clutching his. Her eyes were closed tightly and Katara knew that look. The look every loving girlfriend or wife got when their love was in pain.

She started again, this time to reform the muscle. It was easier than the scars had been, and it was over much more quickly. Finally it was time for the worst part. She had to repair the cartilage and set it back to the way it had been.

She started, closing her eyes as she concentrated hard. Longshot let out a yell of pain, one of the few sounds he had ever made in front of anyone. Bee lifted her head quickly, reaching up to hold his face in her hands. He stared blankly at the ceiling, his expression drawn in pain. For a moment Katara thought she couldn't do it, but then, with a pop, the cartilage repaired itself.

She stepped back and returned the spirit water to a small flask on her belt. With that done, she let out a sigh and finally noticed Toph standing in the doorway.

She had flagged down one of the servants as they passed, telling him to go and get the finest bow he could find in the armory. He did so quickly and now it was leaning against the wall outside.

She cleared her throat and Bee and Longshot turned to look at her. She reached to the side and brought out the bow, holding it by her side. It was nearly as tall as her, and was black elder wood with intricate silver designs. She smiled. "I believe you need this." she said.

Longshot stood from the table he'd been on and lifted his arm smiling as the strength returned to it. He walked forward and took the bow with a nod which Toph 'saw' and returned. He looked it over, grabbing onto the handle and holding it out, slightly crooked to the side. He reached out and pulled back the string, smiling.

Smellerbee smiled as well, it was great to see him back to normal.

-

It took a few days, but soon Longshot was back to his elite archer self. After that, he started training Kaolin an hour a day. Kaolin was a quick learner and seemed to be doing well. They started him off with the more simple targets and within a week he could shoot the rocks that Toph threw high into the sky. His only downfall though was that unlike Longshot, he couldn't figure out how to shoot more than one arrow at once.

Longshot tried to show him, but it never seemed to work. One arrow would catch on the others and throw them off, or send them into a sideways roll to the ground.

Two days into it Longshot finally gave up. He strapped the bow to his back and walked away leaving Kaolin confused and slightly ashamed. Bee stayed behind.

"Don't worry, he's just frustrated, he's always been so good with that bow that he doesn't understand that it can be hard for others to learn as quickly as he can." she explained.

Kaolin nodded, not sure what else to do. He stood for a while, Toph a few feet to his left as she waited. He tried to remember exactly how Longshot had held the bow. It was always tilted slightly to the left so the arrows could rest easily on it. He frowned and lifted his own bow. It was in no way even close to as grand as Longshot's and he doubted if it ever would be, but it was his and that was what mattered. He tilted it to the left to the same degree as Longshot did, but the angle was too slight for him, the arrows just slid down the bow shaft. Another few degrees and the arrows lay still. He pulled back the string with three notched arrows seeing that none of them moved even the slightest up or down. He let them fly and Toph had to smile as she felt his heart skip when they all hit the targets with three nearly consecutive thumps.

There was a soft sound and someone began clapping. Kaolin turned to see Longshot standing maybe twenty feet behind him, a look of approval on his face as he clapped slowly.

Bee stepped up. "He says that there are some things that he can't teach you. Things you must learn on your own. Everyone has a different comfort pattern, yours just happens to be deeper than his." she explained

Kaolin nodded. "Thank you." he said.

Toph sighed. "There's still fifteen minutes of practice."

Longshot stepped forward, his hand raised. He pointed at the targets and then took out an arrow, he spun it between his fingers for a moment before notching it. Bee watched him expectantly, wondering what new trick of mastery he had to teach. He brought the bow up, pointing it directly at Kaolin, flicking it up and to the side.

"He wants you to stand in front of the targets." Smellerbee said.

Kaolin frowned. "Why?"

"Just do it." Toph said. "He's not going to kill you."

Kaolin did as he was told, spreading his arms out to the sides and closing his eyes. The first arrow hit just above his head and he opened his eyes to look up just as another hit only inches above his shoulder. Another hit above his forearm and another at the end of his hand. he stood, not sure what to do. When Longshot stopped he had five arrows around each of his arms above and below the shoulders, forearms and at the tips of his fingers, as well as four at his legs around his thighs and calves two at his waist and one above his head.

His heart was beating so rapidly that both he and Toph worried that it might just give up. He stepped forward and turned to see the arrows. He finally realized what Longshot had done when another flew past him to hit directly in the center of the chest area.

"Are those-?"

"Weak points." Bee answered before he could voice his question. "If you hit any one of those areas you can take down, or even kill your opponent."

Longshot nodded and reached out to take her hand in his. She looked up at him and although he was leaning on his bow staring at the targets, he was talking silently to her. She turned away with a blush, and stared at a patch of flowers. He smiled slightly, before letting her go to strap his bow on again.

The training session was over for today, after was dinner, then they had some time to themselves. They stopped by their room on the way to dinner, and Longshot put his bow away in the corner.

Dinner was served by Mayana who seemed much happier. Toph pulled lightly on the hem of her shirt. "What's going on?" she questioned.

Mayana smiled. "The doctor came by just today and said that Lexxi could go back at the end of the week."

Toph smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Finally." she breathed making Zuko laugh.

Smellerbee and Longshot turned to look a him, never having heard him laugh before. He stopped and looked down at his plate, being firelord usually made him the center of attention, but he wasn't used to it in his own home.

-

After dinner the group went their separate ways. Toph and Zuko went to their room. Katara and Aang went to waterbend in the garden and Suki went to watch them. Sokka went to the library and Mayana went to her own quarters. Bee followed Longshot to their room, not surprised when he closed and locked the door.

He turned back to look at her and she smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

His eyes flashed and she stepped forward toward him, her hands sliding slowly up his chest to his shoulders. She tilted her head back with a smirk and he leaned down to press a kiss against her lips. She brought one leg up, hooking it on his hip. He slid his hand under her thigh and held her in place as she lifted her other leg slowly, her foot sliding slowly over the outside of his leg. Even after all this time, he had to marvel at her strength, her complete control.

He reached down with both hands, holding her up as he walked over to the bed. He dropped her onto the soft covers smirking as she glared at him, before reaching up to take his shirt off. She began to disrobe as well, dropping her clothing on the floor.

She looked up as the soft feathered tip of an arrow slid over her bare thigh and had to smile as it tickled the sensitive flesh slightly. The arrow slid up her stomach and between her breasts to rest against her cheek.

She grabbed onto it, wrenching it from his hand, a dangerous smirk on her face as she swung it. It connected with a sharp sound, and she could see a red line well up on the side of his face.

He grabbed onto her wrist, twisting almost painfully until she had to let go of the arrow. He took hold of it and threw it across the room, roughly throwing her to the floor. She landed on her back, a smirk still on her face even as he descended upon her.

He shoved her to the floor, his weight holding her down even as she struggled. He grabbed hold of her wrists, pinning them to the floor as she tried to shove him off. He placed his lips over hers, biting into her lip to force her to open her mouth. She fought against him, feeling him push himself between her legs.

She wasn't sure how he did it, but without letting her go, he pushed his way into her and she let out a muffled scream of pleasure with mingled pain. He didn't stop, he didn't even pause before he began to thrust into her.

She pulled her mouth away from his and threw her head back with a cry. It wasn't always this way between them, in fact, he usually preferred to make love, slowly and gently, but she knew that this time she'd managed to anger him.

It didn't take long for him to return to his normal ways either. He let go of her wrists, resting his hands on the floor as his pace slowed and became less brutal.

"It's okay." She said gently, wrapping her arms around him as he silently apologized with actions rather than words.

One of his arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her from the floor carefully as they were still connected before pulling out of her and standing to move over to the bed. He laid her on the mattress and re-entered her when she was comfortable. She let out a breath and arched her back up into him.

The pace was slow and easy, and the room became filled with his breathing and her soft moans. She could feel each of his breaths wash over the side of her neck and shoulder, just as he could feel the way she tensed with each thrust.

It didn't take long, another few minutes perhaps for them to find release. She let out a soft cry of his name, while as always he was virtually silent.

He pulled out of her and lay back onto the bed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as she lay her head on his chest. "I love you." she said softly.

He smiled and said the only words that ever escaped from his lips willingly. "I love you too."

-

"Battle tactics aren't easy to fabricate, it takes time and energy to know exactly what you want to do and how you're going to do it."

Toph sat back as Zuko spoke to the generals. He had more expertise in the tactics side of war, while she knew the fighting part. She listened to what he had to say, then stood as he began to explain the plan. She stood next to him, happy that he was going with her.

After the plan was all laid out, the generals left with a three day time period to do what they wanted until they had to leave.

Zuko and Toph continued to talk over the plan, not surprised when the rest of the Gaang offered to come along.

"Suki, you have to stay here." Toph said, crossing her arms.

"I can't stay here when there's fighting to be done." Suki cried indignantly.

"You have to, there's no way that I'm going to let you come with us when you could get hurt and-" Toph paused.

Suki stared a her, her mouth open slightly. How did she know? No one else, not even Sokka knew. "I have to go Toph." she said gently.

Toph shook her head. "No way." she replied in a finalizing tone.

"How did you know?" Suki breathed when the others were talking.

Toph smirked. "Not many people have two heartbeats." she said.

She walked away then, toward Zuko, standing close beside him, reaching out to lace their fingers together. He smiled slightly, but didn't break away from the conversation with Aang.

Suki stood off to the side, knowing Toph was right and hating her for it. How could she not be allowed to go to battle with them? She was a warrior for spirit's sake! She sat down heavily on a nearby bench, her hands moving softly over her stomach.

She looked up as Toph reappeared.

"I want to talk to you."

Suki stood and followed the younger earthbender down a garden path to a small stone bridge that crossed a small and yet deep stream. Toph stopped, leaning on the thick stone railing of the bridge, staring blankly into the water.

"You don't know how lucky you are." Toph said softly.

Suki frowned. "What do you mean?" she questioned.

Toph smiled wistfully. "I always wondered what it would be like. How it would feel to have life growing inside you, to feel the heartbeat and know that you and someone you loved made the precious child within." she paused for a moment. "I want his baby, but I can't have one just yet. It's too soon after the war. He has a responsibility to his nation and his people that he can't put off at the moment."

Suki stared down at her reflection. "I'm sure that he would want nothing more than that." she said. "I'm sure that he would want to have a child, to have someone other than you to lavish with expensive gifts and the attention a baby needs and craves."

Toph smiled. "As I said before, you have no idea just how lucky you are."

Suki stood straight. "Well then, if her Ladyship tells me that I must remain here in the palace keep to await the end of the battle, I will surely do it." she said.

Toph nodded. "I would have made sure you did anyways." she replied before standing as well. "Now, please tell Zuko that I have retired to bed. If I am not wrong I would say that it is late evening?"

"Quite late." Suki replied, looking around the darkening garden where servants were lighting a few torches.

Toph nodded and turned, walking into the palace. Suki returned to the group, relaying the message to Zuko in a very soft tone that none of the others heard.

"Is there a problem Firelord Zuko?" one questioned.

"Not at all it just happens that my lovely wife has left us men alone to talk business while she prepares for bed. I don't suppose I should leave her for too long." he said with a slight smile.

"You know, as firelord you are allowed to take more than one bride." another commented.

Zuko frowned. "And why should I need another wife, my entire heart and soul belong to your Lady Toph, and that is where they should rightly be. It wouldn't be fair to her or to any other woman if I were to marry again. Toph would be jealous and angry while the other woman would be forgotten and completely neglected while I tried to plead my case to Toph. I don't think I will ever take another wife. I don't need one." he said before taking a step back from the group. "Now if you will excuse me, I will be taking my leave, you're dismissed."

-

Three tense days later found Toph standing silently in her changing room, her arms spread out to the sides as Mayana strapped light metal armor onto her small frame. Zuko had the best blacksmiths in the firenation make the armor the two of them would wear. The best tailors had made the light clothing that went beneath the armor.

Toph stepped out of her room and she could feel the hearts of many of the guards speed up with recognition. Her armor was much too similar to Azula's to be of comfort. She waited in the grim silence for a few minutes before Zuko joined her, his armor much like what he had worn before, only it was somewhat more formfitting and less showy. He took her hand in a tight grip, leading her down the hall to the warchamber.

Cho, Lue, and Kaolin were already there, along with Katara, Aang, Sokka, Suki, Longshot and Bee.

Everyone stood silently as Toph began to speak.

"I don't expect everyone to come out of this unscathed, I don't expect this to be won without a fight and I don't expect anyone to get hurt too seriously." she said, letting go of Zuko's hand. She stepped forward with a sigh.

She bowed her head for a moment, surprised when someone began singing.

"fly high across the sky from here to kingdom come, fall back down to where you're from. Don't you fret my dear, it'll all be over soon, and I'll be waiting here for you..."

There was the sound of the others shifting as Toph looked up. "Thank you Suki..." she said softly. "I'm sure you will be here."

-

Everyone began to file slowly out of the room, and Toph was the last to leave Suki there. She paused at the door.

"run, run, run away, buy yourself another day. A cold wind's whispering secrets in your ear, so lonely you can hear... Run, run, run and hide, somewhere no one else can find. Tall trees bend and lean pointing where to go, where you will still be all alone..." she sang softly, smiling as Suki shifted in surprise.

**Chapter seven. Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Title- Revelation**

**Rating- M for later chapters**

**Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Summary- Remember when team Avatar split up to find Aang and Momo, what if when Toph goes with Zuko, something happens, something better than Toph's idea of a life changing experience. **

**A/N- Chapter Eight**

Toph signalled silently for a halt, holding up her hand as she listened. She could hear them. The rebels really weren't as quiet as they should have been.

"I've got this weird feeling." one said.

"You've always got a weird feeling Li." the other guard said with a sigh.

"this time it's different. I think something's going to happen tonight."

Toph waved to her squadron, and Kaolin moved up beside her. "I want you and Longshot in the trees, ready for anything to happen." she breathed.

He moved away and she could feel his sonic image shifting silently through the tall grass until he reached Longshot. They both retreated silently after a moment and she lost their images as they began to climb up into two tall trees on either side of the group.

She waved Katara forward. "Can you dispatch of them?" she questioned.

Katara nodded. "Yes." she replied.

There was a shifting before the sound of water cut through the air. Before either of the two guards could sound the alarm, both of them were frozen to the fence they sat in front of, the ice reaching just below their noses to stop them from speaking. Toph waved the group forward and they stealthily moved toward the gate. The guards let out soft muffled sounds as they saw the dark shapes move out of the brush toward their camp.

They stared in awe as they saw the firelord himself along with his wife stride silently past them. Toph signalled for another halt and split the group, one half going to the right and the other half going to the left. Zuko and herself were going to take a path straight through the center of the encampment.

Toph stepped forward and with a small earthbending gesture, the ground began to shake and rumble with a small earthquake. Everyone within the camp woke with alarm.

Toph stepped up a barrier between herself and the first firebender to come out of his tent, not worrying about Zuko. He moved forward fluidly and blocked the blow. Toph sent out part of her shield at the bender, grinning as it came in contact and knocked him back a good ten feet knocking him unconscious. She stepped down the barrier and dodged just as an arrow shot past her head to imbed into the ground along with a guard's shirt sleeve. The other arm was pinned by another well placed arrow as well as his legs. She stepped up a rock and sent it to the left, hearing it's bone crushing impact as well. There was the sound of firebending close to her right and she recognized the sonic image of Zuko. A rock tipped arrow was flying straight at him, and she stepped up a short pillar beneath him, losing sight of him as he was propelled into the air. He landed perhaps twenty feet away, doing a shoulder roll before flipping onto his feet.

She could hear weapons clashing and a lot of bending. It seemed to be chaos, but her team was well trained and knew exactly what they were to do. She heard the sound of more Firebending and recognized the image of Zuko as he was thrown to the ground. She closed her eyes and concentrated, bringing her arms up as the bender above him shifted into stance. A moment before the fireball hit the ground, Toph's arms swung down. The smoke cleared and the rebel stood, shocked to see that Zuko wasn't there.

Toph continued bending, stepping forward and bringing her hands up, her arms stretched out directly in front of her. The rebel let out a cry as Zuko appeared beside Toph, seemingly calm and collected but by the rapid beat of his heart and the irregular rhythm of his breathing, she could tell that she'd scared him. She stepped forward pushing her hands forward palms in before flicking her wrists so her palms were facing out away from herself. The rebel in front of her fell face first into the ground as his feet became immobile. She brought her hands up sharply and thick rock cuffs encased his wrists. Zuko shifted to the side as a rebel ran at Toph, but she beat him to it, spinning her small body to the right and bringing her foot down powerfully on the ground. The rebel let out a cry as he sunk into the ground up to his neck. She turned a full one hundred eighty degrees and brought her arm around, jabbing at the air quickly with the side of her hand. Three sideways pillars shot up from the ground, knocking three rebels back about ten or fifteen feet.

Another rebel came up behind her, and she crouched low, using the first two fingers on each hand to dig into the ground. Zuko could see that with each jab she made, a spike maybe two feet long shot up out of the ground, surrounding the guard. He stopped and Toph slammed her palm into the ground. Her fingers dug into the stone and she rotated her wrists outward. Stone encased the rebel's legs nearly to his knees. As he reached down to steady himself, his wrists became immobile as cuffs appeared and locked them to his legs.

She turned as yet another rebel appeared to her left. With a sideways sweeping motion of her arm the ground below him gave way into a hole maybe ten feet deep. She heard the flames and felt the heat as someone firebent at her. She was being targeted by most of the rebels now, since she was seen as being the most powerful of all of the invading force. Zuko stepped in the way, clapping his hands together and holding his arms straight out in front of himself, parting the shot right down the center so it missed Toph.

Once he'd done that maybe fifteen firebenders let fly. He and Toph were both completely encased in rapidly contracting walls of flame. He turned and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down to the ground. She hid her face in his chest, closing her eyes as the heat became nearly unbearable. She could feel the flames, they were touching her, tickling over her skin, singing her hair. When she finally couldn't take anymore, when the heat had finally gotten to her, it became cold, or a least cooler than before. She shifted but Zuko still held her still. "Stay down..." he breathed sounding winded.

She could hear the rush of the flames, the crackling as they burned but she could also hear voices outside, calling to them, the sound of bending, fighting from beyond, and much closer, the sound of Zuko's heartbeat and breathing. His heart was racing, but his breathing was calm, he was either meditating or trying to control too much at once. She guessed it was probably both.

When he finally let her go, his hands slid from her shoulders and he collapsed sideways onto the ground. She knelt next to him, hearing the almost eerie silence surrounding them. Well almost silence. There were very few sounds and she guessed that the fight was over finally. She leaned down and pressed her ear to Zuko's chest. His heartbeat was there, and it was as strong as ever, his breathing was slowing and she guessed that he had either passed out, or was resting.

She felt running steps and recognized the soft footsteps of Katara headed straight for them. "Are you hurt?!"

Toph shook her head, still laying mostly on Zuko. "I'm exhausted and I don't know what's up with him." she said.

Katara knelt on his other side and pulled one of his eyes open slightly. He was still alive, but judging from the lack of reaction to the light, he was unconscious. "Aang!" she called.

He pushed his way to the front of the group and knelt beside Katara. "What is it?"

"How much bending power can be expelled before you pass out?" she questioned, still looking over Zuko.

Aang frowned. "All of it." he said. "He would have had to use every ounce of his inner flame in order to faint from bending."

"Will it come back?"

"Eventually, with rest." he said.

"How long is eventually?" Katara questioned, turning to face him fully.

"A few days at most." he replied.

"Alright, we have to get them onto Appa and back to the firenation palace." she said.

Toph sat up, standing with difficulty. "You have all fought well today!" she called in a weaker than usual voice. "I am proud of each and every one of you! You know what to do!"

There was a collective cheer and she tried to walk, but just stumbled and fell to her knees, putting out her hands just in time to not face plant into the ground. There was silence before a few people rushed forward to help her. Sokka managed to reach her first and picked her up, holding her tightly as be ran to Appa. Handing her up to Katara and Aang.

"I'll stay behind and finish here." he said. "Tell Suki I'm okay."

Katara nodded and Appa took off heading for the firenation. Toph woke momentarily, opening her eyes which burned intensely. "Zuko..." was the only thing she could manage to say.

-

Toph shifted, noticing that she was lying in bed and someone was sitting up next to her, reading by the sounds of it. She opened her eyes and let out a yawn, sitting up and brushing her hands over her face. She had bandages over her eyes.

"What's going on?"

"Katara said that you somehow damaged your eyes in the fire. She also said that I managed to get burned." Zuko replied.

"Can I take these off?" Toph questioned. "I feel fine."

"She said there could be some unknown side affects because she used spirit water instead of normal water. She doesn't want you to take them off until she gets here." Zuko said.

Toph heard him shift and suddenly his lips were against hers. She smiled as he pulled back. "I love you." she said gently. "And I'm so happy you're okay."

Zuko smiled just as the door opened and Katara entered the room. "Oh, good you're awake."

Toph let out a sigh. "Okay, now get these rags off my face." she commanded.

Katara let out a breath and sat next to her, unwrapping the bandages slowly. "You should be as well as you were." she said.

Toph opened her eyes as the bandages were removed completely and blinked a few times. The burning she'd felt before had completely ceased and was gone.

"I'm fine." she said. "As well as before as you said."

"Okay." Katara said.

"Why did you want to be here anyways?"

"Just to make sure there were no problems."

Toph frowned and narrowed her eyes, something told her that Katara was lying, but since the waterbender was too far away to hear her heartbeat, and Toph's feet were off the ground, she couldn't tell.

"Goodnight." Katara said before leaving.

-

Toph crawled up onto the bed next to Zuko after her bath, taking hold of his book and closing it before pulling it from his grasp to set it on the bedside table. She straddled his legs, and leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. His hands slid up her back softly, pulling her close as she opened her mouth to him.

He slid his tongue past those plump pink lips, into her mouth, sliding it over hers. She let out a moan and reached up, burying her hands in his hair.

When he pulled back, she let out a disappointed sound that she'd never made before. His hands slid down her waist to pull at the hem of her shirt and she reluctantly moved back to allow him space to pull it off of her. She leaned forward to press another heated kiss to his lips while he worked on getting her chest wrappings off. His hand moved up to gently cup one of her breasts and she let out a gasp and tilted her head back. He took the chance and moved forward latching his lips onto her other peaked nipple. She moaned at the pleasurable feeling before reaching down to push his shirt from his shoulders. He threw it off to the side before easily picking her up by the waist to lay her on the bed. She lay back, staring blankly up at him as he pulled on her pants, pulling them down and off. Her underwear quickly followed.

She sat up as he began to untie his own pants, her hands brushing over his bared skin before one hooked on his shoulder to pull him forward. He went with her as she lay back, resting on his elbows as her legs wrapped around his waist. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips before moving his mouth down the side of her neck. He bit into her collarbone lightly before sucking on the spot to bring a mark to the surface.

She let out a sigh as he moved back up to kiss her again. She opened her mouth without coaxing and moaned again as his tongue pushed it's way forward. She brought hers forward to meet his about halfway. It was like any other kiss they'd shared but there was something about this one, something different- whole.

Toph pulled back. "Zuko..."

He glanced down at her to see her pleasured expression. He tilted his head down and positioned himself, pushing into her slowly.

She let out a cry and her eyes rolled back before closing. He pulled out of her only to push back in.

It didn't take long, no more than a few minutes for them to both reach their finish. When they'd caught their breath, he pressed a kiss to her lips before pushing himself off of her. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you too."

-

"The rogues have all been apprehended and imprisoned as you had ordered sir."

Zuko nodded. "very good. What news is there in the earth kingdom?"

The general shifted through some papers. "There seems to be a drought in Ba Sing Se. A small village is being attacked and pillaged by a demonic spirit. An unknown woman has been drifting in and out of a small town near Omashu. And the badgerfrogs are unusually large this year."

Toph laughed. "Sure sounds like earth kingdom news." she said. "It's just a bunch of stuff that doesn't make any difference."

Zuko didn't reply, he was thinking over something the general had said. He stood and waved his arm, snuffing out the flames in his path. "The meeting is over." he said as he walked out.

He heard the now familiar sound of Toph's bare feet on the stone floor and turned to wait for her at the door. She stopped only once to silence a whisper before exiting the war chamber.

"How would you like to go and visit your mother?" Zuko questioned.

"And search for this unknown woman to see if she's someone you know right?" Toph questioned.

Zuko smiled. "I'm afraid so."

"Sure, shall I go and get the eelhounds ready?" she questioned.

Zuko smiled. "That won't be necessary, I can get someone else to do it while I put things in order around here before leaving."

Toph nodded. "Then I shall retire to our room to pack while I await you."

Zuko smiled and shook his head at her tone. She began to walk away and he shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he questioned.

She turned back and paused for a moment. "I don't think so."

"Come back here."

Toph closed the distance between them, easily shifting into his embrace. He leaned down slightly and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I won't be back until later." he breathed before kissing her again.

She smiled and pulled herself from his embrace, grabbing his arm and dragging him to a small deserted room. She locked the door and pushed him against the wall, making him sit.

She straddled his legs, pulling her dress up and out of the way as she did.

"Toph, what are you doing?" Zuko questioned as she began untying his belt to pull his robes open.

Her hands slid over his bared skin and she leaned forward to kiss him. Both of her hands came up, one resting on his shoulder, the other brushing over the side of his face. He closed his eyes as she pulled her mouth away, pressing kisses all the way down and along his neck and shoulders.

Her hands tugged at his pants, and he slid forward slightly to give her room. She pulled his length from his pants and began to stroke him slowly, biting into the side of his neck even as she did.

He let out a soft moan, reaching up to pull her face back up to his. He placed a kiss on her lips, catching her cry as she pushed herself down onto his length.

She started it, but he had to finish as all the strength left her legs. His hands rested on her waist and with a gentle pull, he lifted her from himself before letting her drop back down. This continued for a few minutes before finally they both reached release at almost the same moment.

She leaned against him, catching her breath. His arms wrapped loosely around her and he almost smiled before realizing that once again he'd come inside of her.

He tilted his head back against the wall and let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Toph questioned breathlessly.

"Nothing." Zuko replied. "I just did something stupid again."

Toph frowned and leaned back. "what do you mean?"

"I Uh... Might have made you pregnant, but then I might not."

She just stared at him. "Okay... I'm not sure what you mean."

He sighed and shook his head. "I released inside of you Toph. That's how babies are made, but it might not be your cycle, so we could be in luck and you're not pregnant."

She nodded. "Okay, don't worry about it, even if I am with child that's okay."

Zuko frowned. "alright. We should probably get up and do what we were going to earlier."

She moved off of him and stood, fixing herself. "I'm going to go and pack, then have Mayana give me a bath."

"That's probably a good idea." Zuko said as he fixed his clothing. "I'm going to go and set things straight with the generals then I'll probably bathe as well."

Toph laughed and they parted ways with a chaste kiss.

-

Toph sat in the bronze tub, leaning against the side as Mayana brushed a soft soap covered cloth over her arms and legs. "So you're leaving then?"

"Only until we find the mysterious woman who continuously reappears in the earth kingdom." Toph replied.

Mayana nodded. "Zuko thinks she's his mother?"

"She might be." Toph replied. "You never know."

"If she is, where does that leave the two of you?"

"Zuko gets his mother back and is happy again." Toph replied.

Mayana just shook her head and finished bathing Toph, helping her dress in some traveling clothes before leaving her alone to wait for Zuko. She only had to wait maybe half an hour.

She smiled and turned toward him. "Is everything ready then?"

"Yes, our transportation is ready for us and if you're finished packing we can leave immediately."

Toph nodded. "I think everything is ready. I asked Mayana to go and get some food and supplies, she'll go and load everything onto our rides."

Zuko nodded and looked through the bags making sure that everything was properly packed and it was all there.

-

Toph was getting tired of the rocking movements of the eelhounds, they may have moved quickly, much quicker even than she could use earthbending, but they had an abnormal stride. She didn't even want to get started on how they swim.

She let out a sigh and pulled the eelhound to a halt, shifting on the sticky leather saddle. "What time is it?" she questioned. She couldn't feel the sun, but that could have meant anything.

"It's just after nightfall." Zuko replied. "We can stop for camp if you like."

She slid from the saddle and landed hard on the ground. She forgot how tall they were when they didn't lay down to let you off. She felt something nudge her shoulder and reached over to feel the eelhound's smooth scaled snout under her fingers.

She smiled in spite of herself. "I'm fine, I promise." she said and it licked her hand with a long reptilian tongue.

She felt the earth tremor as it laid down and Zuko slid from his eelhound. "I guess you can set up camp while I go and get some firewood." he said.

Toph stretched out her hands and stepped up a large earth tent, then over each eelhound she stepped up a small rock shelter almost like a three sided lean-to, in the center of the circle she created a fire-pit. "Done." she said.

Zuko laughed and shook his head. "You want to go and find food as well?"

She paused for a moment and stomped on the ground. A small shape shot up through the trees to her left to land in her hand. It was a rabbit-gopher.

Zuko shook his head again. "I'll be back with the firewood then." he said with a soft laugh.

Toph sat next to the fire-pit, hitting the ground with the flat of her hand to push a short leaning pillar up behind herself. She cut one part off of it to make the front flat before leaning back against it, crossing her arms behind her head with a sigh.

Zuko returned a few minutes later and paused as he saw her, smiling and shaking his head. He set up the firewood and lit it before sitting back as well. He lay back on the ground, laying his head on his hands as he stared at the sky. He heard the shifting of fabric and Toph was next to him, laying her head on his chest.

"Are the stars shining tonight?" she questioned.

"Brightly." Zuko replied in a soft tone.

She snuggled into his side, shivering slightly. She wasn't used to the cold anymore. He was always so warm and he kept her so warm that she wasn't used to the outside temperature. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and made his body temperature rise just a few degrees. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Thanks."

He smiled. "I really don't mind."

-

Morning came too early for Toph, but when she woke, Zuko wasn't with her. She got up and dressed... Mostly. She wore one of his shirts and her underthings that was all. She exited the tent and followed movement to a small clearing not too far away. She stood and 'watched' him practice for a while before deciding to make her presence known since it was quite cold that morning. She walked through the trees with her arms wrapped loosely around herself. He turned toward her in a defensive stance before standing straight.

"You shouldn't be dressed like that." he chastised. "It's cold this morning."

She smiled and shook her head. "Says the one who's half dressed as well." she commented as he wrapped his arm around her to lead her back to the campsite.

"I'm always warm Toph, unless of course my flame dims or dies."

She nodded. "Of course. When did you want to start off again?"

"As soon as you're ready."

She shook her head again. "Why couldn't you have been the leader of the Avatar team? You're so much more lenient than Sokka."

Zuko released her as they got to the campsite and sat down by the fire. "Maybe because I'm from the firenation, or because I chased Aang all over the world and tried to kill all of you, or maybe it was because it took me so long to finally realize that I didn't need my father to have honour. I was pretty bad at being good in the beginning for a while."

She laughed as she sat next to him. "That you were. You know I still haven't really forgiven you for burning me."

He turned to her. "It was an accident!"

She laughed again. "I know, but still, I never managed to torment you as much as I'd had in mind at the time."

He shook his head. "You torment me all the time." he commented. "You just do it in a very subtle and less malicious way."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He smiled. "You're tormenting me just by sitting there like that."

She tilted her head in confusion, her frown deepening slightly.

He lay back on the ground. "You're so beautiful Toph, it hurts just to be near you and not be able to touch you every waking moment."

She smiled. "Thanks. However, we should probably get moving, we have a long way to go yet."

He sat up and extinguished the fire. "You're right. You go and get dressed while I pack up."

She did as he suggested, packing everything in the tent as she did. Using a bit of earthbending she bent the tent and lean-to back into the earth, there was nothing to give away the fact that someone had camped there other than the scorch marks on the ground where the fire had been.

She hopped up onto the Eelhound that she had named Hanbay and they started off.

The travel that day was pretty well silent other than a couple of short conversations between them. Toph was almost ready to collapse against Hanbay's neck with tiredness before they finally stopped for the night. She didn't bother to make a tent or anything else, she just curled up on the ground near the eelhounds, and closed her eyes. She could hear Zuko moving around and she had to smile when he finally lay down with her and his arms immediately wrapped around her. She turned over and snuggled into his embrace, falling asleep within minutes.

When she woke in what she assumed was the morning, Zuko was once again no where to be found. She sat up and heard the creaking of leather and the soft jingling of metal. One of the eelhounds was awake and moving around.

She stood stalk still for a few moments, concentrating hard. She frowned when she couldn't find Zuko anywhere. The creaking of leather turned to the crack of a whip and the jingling of metal turned to the clanking of chains and the soft fibre like sounds of rope. She frowned and shifted slightly sending out a small tremor in the earth.

Whatever was there took a step and she could see it was a rhino. She took a step back into the clutches of an unknown person and they picked her right up off of the ground and tied her hands to the saddle of one of the rhinos with rope.

She heard the whip crack again and let out a soft sound as it lashed across the side of her face.

"Don't damage her! She could be worth something!"

"What do I do with the boy?" another questioned.

"Get rid of him." the first replied.

Toph grit her teeth as Zuko hit the ground hard- and didn't move. She held back the tears, refusing to show any emotion. She stared at his sonic image, almost willing him to be alive. He shifted and she let out a breath.

"He's alive! Finish him off!"

Toph let out a scream of denial as one of the men descended upon him with a sword drawn for the kill.

Toph sat up, taking in a ragged breath. She reached out and felt Zuko's bare skin beneath her hands, she let out a soft sigh and moved over to him, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder, halfway sitting up against him.

He shifted and turned, frowning as he saw her. "Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head. "Just a nightmare." she replied. "It's okay."

He pulled her into a warm embrace. "Did you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "I don't remember." was her reply.

Zuko nodded. "Are you going to be able to get back to sleep? It's not quite morning yet."

Toph shrugged." I don't know." she moved back from him just slightly and straddled his lap, leaning forward and laying her head against his shoulder. He crossed his legs under her and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist, quite comfortable holding her like that. He felt her lips on his skin and had to smile when she moved back again.

"Kiss me." she commanded softly.

He leaned into her, placing a kiss on her lips. Her hands traveled up, one pressing against the back of his neck while the other moved down to dig into his shoulder blade. He let out a soft groan and she opened her mouth, begging him to deepen the kiss.

-

Later in the morning in a small town in the earth kingdom, a tall almost regal looking woman strode into the market. She wore green and beige rags, and her hair was dirty and stringy looking. She reached a booth and produced a few copper coins.

"What can I get for this?" she questioned. Her voice was soft and she kept her head down, her eyes averted. The shopkeeper took pity on her.

"I'll give you a free hot meal and sell you some clean water and a basket of vegetables for that." he replied.

She smiled. "Thank you for your kindness. May Oma and Shu bless you for years to come."

The shopkeeper beamed, and went into a small building just behind the booth, returning a minute or so later with a boxed meal on top of a basket filled to the brim with vegetables. He placed it and a pouch of water on the countertop. The woman placed the money in his hand and picked everything up with surprising strength.

"Thank you once more." she said before turning and walking out of town. She walked for maybe twenty minutes, stopping at a small cave. She went inside and set everything on the soft sandy floor before going over and lighting a small fire with some flint that she had found.

With that done she stood straight and pulled off the earth nation jacket, uncovering a worn green tunic. She let out a sigh and sat next to the fire, boiling a small bit of water. With the water, she washed the grime and dirt from her hair, face and body. She finger-combed her hair and pulled it back, tying it in a tight knot on the top of her head.

She lifted her head and her amber eyes glinted brightly in the light of the flames.

-

"We're only another day's trip from the town." Zuko called to Toph.

She nodded. "No problem."

The eelhounds sped over the ground, their long strides and aerodynamic bodies eating up the miles. They'd been running for hours now and still didn't seem to be showing signs of weariness. Their stamina was unmatched by any other animal, and their speed was legend. They didn't stop until nightfall, and even then they seemed restless, ready to continue.

Toph set up a small camp wile Zuko went to find food and firewood. When he returned, Toph had curled up near the eelhounds and was sleeping soundly. He lit a small fire and went about cooking something for the morning before retiring as well.

Morning couldn't come fast enough. Today was the day that they would reach the village and by the time they had eaten and packed their stuff, the eelhounds were restless once again, ready to go.

Toph jumped up on hers and he took off like a bat out of hell, Zuko's not far behind. They stretched out their strides until it seemed like they were flying over the ground rather than running. Not even Toph could feel the impact of their feet with the ground, their steps were too fleeting and light.

They reached the village before midday. Stopping at a small inn. The eelhounds were put into the stable, fed well and watered before Toph and Zuko even had a chance to get out of their room to search the village.

Once they were outside they began asking questions about the mysterious woman. No one seemed to have ever seen her face and didn't know what she could look like. However, one man said that he'd seen her at the market the day before and she'd stopped at Li Goh's stand.

It wasn't hard to find the market, and it wasn't hard to find Li Goh. Toph walked up to the stand. "Are you Li Goh?" she questioned.

"I am." he replied.

"We're here to ask about the woman that stopped here yesterday."

"There were many women here, but if you're asking about the poor woman to whom I gave free food, then I guess you came to the right place."

Zuko frowned. "Poor woman?"

"Yes, she stops by here sometimes with a few copper coins asking for food. I felt bad for her and gave her free food and lots of vegetables and some clean water for the few coins she had. I don't know what it is, but there's an air of kindness and nobleness around her."

"Did you see where she went?"

"No one knows where she goes, but I can tell you that she leaves the town toward the west once she has whatever she came into town for." Li Goh replied. "Why are you looking for her?"

"She may be someone we know." Toph replied. "Thanks for the information."

She placed three gold pieces on the counter and started walking away. Zuko caught up with her.

"Do you think it's her?" she questioned.

"I don't know." Zuko replied. "I guess I can just hope."

Toph let out a sigh and continued walking. "How long has it been since you saw your mother?" she questioned.

"Almost four years now, but I'll recognize her the moment I see her."

Toph nodded. "We're getting close to someone." she commented, stopping. "I can hear a fire."

She felt Zuko's heartbeat speed up slightly and hoped that this person actually was his mother so that he wouldn't be disappointed. They turned a corner and stopped at the mouth of a small cave.

"There's someone inside." Toph breathed.

Zuko moved forward into the cave, stopping just inside. Toph followed him. The royal couple stayed still and silent for a moment until movement was heard.

"Who's there?"

Toph could feel Zuko through the ground, she felt his heart skip a beat and knew that he recognized the voice.

"Ursa?" he questioned softly.

There was movement again and a figure moved out of the shadows into the firelight. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"We've been looking for you." Toph said before Zuko could speak. "My name is Toph Bei Fong, and I'm sure you already know Zuko."

"Zuko?" her tone was soft, wondering. "My son?"

Zuko moved forward. "Mother?"

Ursa was across the cave before either of them could speak throwing her arms around her son. "Zuko!"

Toph took a few steps back, wiping her face with the back of her hand to rid of silent tears.

"You've changed." Ursa said gently. "You're so much taller than I remember."

Zuko moved back from her. "A lot has changed in four years." he commented before smiling. "You're looking at the new firelord."

Ursa let out a small shriek. "Firelord? But what about your father?"

Zuko's mood darkened and he turned away from her. "He was a tyrant, bent on destroying the world as we know it. I helped the Avatar to stop him. I defeated Azula with Toph's help and things have been better since then."

Ursa reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Zuko, let me see your face."

He stiffened and Toph could tell that he didn't want his mother to see what his own father had done to him. She stepped forward and took his hand in hers, feeling his gaze shift to her. "She's your mother Zuko, let her see."

He let out a breath and turned to face the wife of the late firelord Ozai. She took in a breath and immediately reached up to gently smooth her fingers over the scar. "Who did this to you?"

Zuko looked away from her. "I think you already know that answer."

Toph felt a tremor go through the woman and for a moment thought that maybe she would start crying, but she didn't, she seemed to calm herself internally and spoke in a soft kind tone. "It's alright Zuko." she said. "It's over now, if I had known..."

Toph frowned as she trailed off.

-

The ride back to the firenation was much more interesting than the journey away. Ursa had much to tell them, so much in fact that neither Toph nor Zuko could tell her of their own lives. When they reached the palace, they were escorted inside and met at the door by Mayana.

"Firelord, My Lady."

Toph allowed her to remove her overcoat as Ursa watched.

"I have drawn a bath for you my lady, I'm sure you are wearied from your travels and wish to relax."

Toph nodded. "Yes thank you." she said. "But first send for someone to care for our guest, Lady Ursa, wife of Ozai."

Mayana turned and bowed slightly to Ursa. "It is a pleasure to see you once again." she said.

Ursa frowned. "I'm afraid I don't remember you." she said softly.

Mayana smiled. "That's fine, I'm Mayana, Lady Toph's personal keeper and while I won't be able to attend to you, I will send for a couple of our best handmaidens in the palace."

"Lady Toph?" Ursa questioned, looking her over.

Toph reached up and pulled her hair loose from the bun it was in, letting it fall loose around her shoulders and down her back. "Mayana, please do as I asked." she said.

Mayana retreated quickly, returning a few minutes later with two older women.

"Would someone explain this to me?" Ursa questioned.

Zuko smiled. "Sorry I didn't tell you before, but you seemed to excited about seeing me again and telling me what happened that I didn't have the time." he said. "Mother, Toph is my wife."

Ursa blinked a few times before a wide smile broke out across her face. "I'm so happy for you." she said. "I hope you are happy together."

Zuko shot a sidelong glance at Toph. "Happier than I have been in years." he replied.

Ursa clapped a few times. "Amazing. I don't believe I didn't see it before."

Toph laughed. "Don't worry, we weren't trying to keep it secret, it's just that we were interested in what you had to say. Now that we're home, things will change."

Zuko smiled and Toph moved over toward him, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek before following Mayana to her room and a nice hot bath.

Ursa was ushered away by the women and Zuko followed Toph and Mayana. He entered the room and washed quickly, before knocking on Toph's changing room door.

"Come in." Toph called.

He entered and saw Mayana standing close behind Toph, obviously in the middle of undressing her. "Continue."

"You're sure about that?" Mayana questioned.

Toph laughed. "It's nothing he hasn't seen many times before." she commented.

Mayana continued undressing her and Zuko had trouble keeping his mind out of the gutter. He was watching his wife being stripped by another woman after all. Toph stretched when she was finally unclothed and stepped into the bronze bathtub. Sitting in the deep hot water with a sigh.

Mayana took up a sponge and began to bathe her, starting with her legs and moving up. Zuko sat on the chair in the room and watched as the dirt was cleaned from her porcelain skin until she was clean once more. Mayana had her duck her head under the water before beginning to wash her hair thoroughly. Zuko could see the rivulets of dirty water and soap sliding down Toph's shoulders into the tub.

He had to shake his head to clear away the thoughts that invaded his mind.

"Was there something that you wanted, or did you just come here to see me unclothed?" Toph questioned.

Zuko laughed slightly. "I was just wondering what you actually thought of my mother." he said.

Toph shrugged. "She seems nice, and she definitely loves you, but it's a losing fight if she thinks she's going to be able to take you from me forever."

He laughed again. "I don't think she'll try to."

"What makes you-" Toph cut off as Mayana dumped a bucket full of water over her head. "Say that?" she finished when she could breathe.

Zuko shrugged. "She's not like that, however she's going to have a lot of questions for both of us."

Toph stood and Mayana poured one more pail of water over her to get rid of the soap. "As long as she doesn't intrude, I don't mind." Toph replied.

Mayana wrapped a long towel around her and lifted her out of the tub. Zuko was surprised at the older girl's strength.

He watched as Mayana vigorously dried Toph and helped her dress. He couldn't help but notice how mature Toph was physically. She was taller, and her breasts were now bigger than Katara's, her waist was small and flared into wide feminine hips. She was every bit a woman.

He moved as she moved over and sat on the chair in front of the mirror, leaning her head forward so Mayana could brush her hair.

"Well, thanks for the answers, and I'll wait for you outside." Zuko commented.

Toph let out a breath as the doors closed and stood again. Mayana pulled the dress up and over her head, laying it over the back of the chair before grabbing a corset and tightening it properly before tying it. With that she picked out chest wrappings and began to wrap Toph's chest with them, making sure that they were sufficiently wrapped to hold the weight of her ample bosom.

"Better?" she questioned as she helped Toph redress.

"Much. They're a lot heavier than I remember. It makes it harder to run." Toph commented as she sat again.

"Zuko seems to like them though." Mayana said with a mischievous tone.

"Of course he likes them, he likes a lot of things about me." Toph retorted.

Mayana laughed and finished with Toph's hair, pinning it up gracefully and sliding the 'Firelady' piece into a tight bun before placing a small flame shaped tiara just behind her bangs.

Toph stood and Mayana fixed her dress. "How do I look?"

"A little makeup and you'll match the part of a lady." Mayana said with a laugh.

Toph smirked but stood still as her makeup was applied. There was very little, only what was needed. A soft pink to accentuate the soft curve of her lips, and a light green to bring out her eyes.

"There you go." Mayana said. "You're now fit to stand by Zuko's side."

Toph stood straighter and took out a large red and gold fan, opening it and holding it just at her collarbones. "Thank you Mayana, you may leave."

"Of course my lady, just, one question."

"What?"

"Are you dressed like this to impress Ursa?"

Toph turned away from her. "I don't need to impress anyone, I dress like this for my people." she said. "They need to know that I care about their nation, why else would I be wearing red?"

"Because it looks good on you?"

"Well there's that too." Toph replied with a laugh.

Mayana shook her head. "I'll just clean up here, and then I'll be leaving."

Toph nodded. "It's not a problem, Zuko will probably want to go and talk to his mother, so we'll be in one of the sitting rooms."

With that she left, walking out into her room where Zuko sat waiting at the foot of the bed.

"Wow." he commented. "I feel underdressed."

Toph smiled. "No need, I am simply dressed in a wardrobe that befits a woman of my station." she said.

He laughed. "Of course."

She reached out and he walked over to take her hand before leading her down the hallway to a sitting room near the war chamber. When they entered Ursa stopped to stare, not at Zuko but at Toph who looked so regal standing next to him.

"Hello, I was just admiring your new tapestries." she said.

Zuko smiled and shook his head. "They're not new, I had them brought down from storage. They're centuries old."

Ursa nodded. "So, I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions."

Zuko shook his head. "It's fine. Ask away."

Toph sat next to him on the couch, leaning against him slightly.

"Well, how did you two meet?" she started with.

"We met while traveling." Toph replied. "I was traveling with the Avatar, teaching him earthbending before Zuko joined us. One thing led to another and we fell in love. Although I do miss Iroh, he and I are old friends."

Zuko smiled. "He's quite the old friend to have."

Ursa nodded. "And how did you get the scar?"

Zuko went silent for a moment. "I spoke against a general in the war chamber when I was thirteen. Ozai took it as a personal offence and challenged me to an Agni Kai, when I refused to fight he burned me and banished me. He told me that I would never be allowed back into the firenation and I would never have my honour restored until I captured the Avatar. I chased him all over the world with uncle until I finally stood up to Ozai and joined the Avatar. We're good friends now."

Ursa was silent, taking in the information. "And you?"

Toph shrugged. "I ran away from home to teach the Avatar, I traveled with him for quite a while until Zuko joined us. We've been together nearly a year now."

"you were a teacher to the Avatar? You're an earthbender?"

Toph nodded. "The best earthbender in the world, I'm the only one that can bend metal and glass as well as rock."

"Who were his other teachers?"

"A water tribe girl named Katara who he's now married to, and Zuko." Toph replied.

Zuko sat silently, taking in his mother's reactions.

"Have you two thought about children?" she questioned.

Zuko shot a look at Toph from the corner of his eye.

"We don't have time for them right now." Toph replied. "Besides, I don't know a thing about caring for a baby."

Ursa laughed. "It's really not as hard as it seems, unless of course you have a daughter like Azula." she said. "There was always something wrong with that girl."

Toph tilted her head down. "I would prefer if you wouldn't mention her around me." she said softly.

Zuko reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing gently. Ursa looked between the two of them. Zuko was still looking at Toph when he answered her silent question. "Azula almost killed me once, I was close to dying, to leaving my nation leaderless and my girlfriend with nothing. Excuse Toph for hating her."

Ursa smiled. "I don't blame her. The reason why you turned out the way you did is because you spent so much time around me. A mother's love always chases the darkness away."

Toph closed her eyes and tilted her head down more. Her mother was waiting for her, unsure of when she would come.

**Chapter Eight please review**


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